


Desert Rose

by Angottos



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 01:51:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4460714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angottos/pseuds/Angottos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You were used to live outside the desert and make monthly visits to the well that resided in it's heart.  You were used to the stinging heat, to the whispering dunes, to all the dangers.  But your monotonous life came to a sudden end, when you stumbled upon a helpless and lost nobleman, who just so happened to be a member of a prestigious royal family.</p><p>(Haruka Nanase x Reader, Arabian!AU)</p><p>*UNCENSORED SERIES*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was the crack of dawn when you woke up from your deep slumber.  Quietly groaning, you slowly opened your eyes and tried to adjust your vision to the morning light by blinking a few times and rubbing your eyes. Once they were fully functioning, they immediately shifted to the little window not far from you, and saw the sky dancing in pink and yellow, greeting the sun with their beautiful shades and hues.

A few clouds were rolling up as well, looking as if they were uncertain of their place up there in the vast sky.  A group of birds crossed the sky, flying and cawing in the same time.

Watching this scene, an appreciative sigh escaped your lips.  You loved the early mornings, since they were quiet and serene, and gave you some kind of unexplainable feeling of protection, knowing that you were already awake, while the people in the nearby village were most probably still sleeping.  But today was not one of those days when you could just stay in bed a few more minutes to enjoy the peace and sunrise, and realizing this made you quietly whine in your pillow again.

You felt dizzy and tired, and every muscle in your body seemed to pull you back in to your little bed.  And that was saying something, considering that said object wasn’t even that comfortable, but it was better than sleeping on the cold and sandy ground, so you weren’t complaining.  Although, you _were_ complaining about your aching body.

For the last week you were helping out an old merchant at the bazaar with selling goods and such, helping to carry and organize crates filled with expensive rarities most probably imported from a rich, Mediterranean country.  The old merchant’s wife fell ill, and thus being left with no one, he practically begged you to help him out.  You didn’t have the heart to say no.   And it’s not like you did not get highly paid in exchange, so if anything, the money was worth it.

The only downside to it was the long, gruesome hours of work with carrying and opening heavy, wooden crates in the strong heat of the desert.  And just when you were looking forward to a relaxing weekend, you came to realize that you had neglected your chores around your house.  Living alone in a small hut had its perks, of course, but it also had its downsides.   And even though you long before constructed a routine like schedule for tending to your house, this all got forgotten when you accepted to help the old merchant.

It only made things harder, that your hut was just outside the village, a good few meters away from the gates that greeted travelers who seek shelter from the cold night of the desert.  This left you now with only one barrel of water, scarcely any food to eat, a pile of laundry to be washed, and you also had to wash the dishes and sweep the dust out of your hut.  This would most probably take you your whole day.  Not to mention that you will also have to buy some hay for your donkey, Asim.   Poor thing has hardly any grass or anything to chew on, and the trough he drinks from is getting short of clean water as well.

Maybe you should clean that too...   Groaning one more time, you stretched your limbs and sighed, before you sat up; the woolen blanket immediately slipping off of your body.   Barefoot, you made your way to the little wooden chair adjacent to your bed, and grabbed your neatly folded clothes.

Your greyish – brownish robe, which you usually just wrapped around your figure and fastened it to your waist with a sash, was already a bit tattered, much to your embarrassment.   You couldn’t stop scrutinizing the piece of clothing with your eyes, as you slipped it on.   Being done with that, you slipped your feet in your curly toed leather slippers and proceeded to make exit your room.   The kitchen area was separated from your room with a doorframe that was covered with a long, blanket like garment, attached to the upper frame with several nails.  

Gently shoving it aside, you entered your kitchen.   In the right corner of it was a barrel filled with water. Walking up to it, you started to scoop out the water in to a little bowl, to wash your face and hands.   Feeling the cold water against your cheeks made you elicit a loud sigh of satisfaction.   After you finished washing yourself, you stepped to the wooden cupboard next to it and opened it’s door.

You had some bread, eggs, a few herbs and a pottery container full of rice.   Humming quietly, you shrugged your shoulders, and grabbed the bread.   As you were cutting it into neat slices, you decided to save two for Asim as a little treat.   ’He deserves that much for always carrying me with my baggage around,’ you mused to yourself.

Putting the two slices of bread away in your pouch bag, you put one slice in your mouth and started slowly chewing it.   Despite you feeling dead tired, you stood there standing and did not sit at your meek little wooden table.   You were restless, and couldn’t just sit there calmly eating.   A long day was awaiting you, and you hoped that the sooner you start with your chores, the earlier you will finish them.   Mentally going over your to – do list once again, you decided that it would be wiser to start with filling your barrel with water.

For getting water, you just usually went to the nearest desert well, which wasn’t even that far away from your hut.   ...Well, if you went with Asim, that is.   By foot it would take you roughly one hour to cross the sand dunes and travel in the unbearable heat.   The elderly women in the near – by village always voiced their concern whenever you told them where you get your water.   They deemed it too dangerous for you to travel alone in the middle of nowhere to a well, that is hundred of years old, not to mention its questionable water - quality.

 This was then almost always followed by the quiet muttering about how you were also a woman, making you more vulnerable if, say, a group of bandits appeared and decided to ambush you.   You usually just waved at this and laughed weakly.

”Well, I always have Asim by my side...?”   Cue sad head shake from them.

You shrugged, and swallowed down the thoroughly chewed bread, already being finished with one slice.   You’ve been going to that well since years, and not once did anyone attack you.   In fact, it was one of the most deserted places you knew about.   The water seemed to be fine as well, since you didn’t recall it tasting funny or suspicious.   Adding to the fact was that you were healthy as ever, so you assumed that it must have been clear.

With this thought, you finished your second slice of bread, and went to the other corner of your kitchen.   There, propped up against the wall, were four antique ceramic jugs.   They had a muddy color, but were nonetheless beautiful; richly decorated with paintings of different Arabic patterns.   You use them for delivering the bailed out water from the well, since the barrel in your kitchen is too heavy for you and for Asim to carry.   It would be no problem if the barrel was empty, but once it was filled there was no way you or your poor donkey could manage to bring it back in your hut. But fastening the jugs on Asim’s back – it’s all much, much easier.

And fortunately, you only have to do this once a week.

The water usually lasts for five to seven days, but of course only because you learned how to spare.   Before grabbing the two jugs, you made your way back in your room.   Grabbing your shawl, you loosely wrapped it around your head.   Your journey to the well should be relatively pleasant, since the sun did not fully rise yet, but you knew that by the time you have your jugs filled with water, the sun will be high, tormenting you with its heat.   Finished with wrapping, you left your room and grabbed the jugs, two under either side of your armpits, and carefully made your way out of your hut.

The little stable, in which your loyal companion resided, was just behind your house; it’s disheveled form seemed to be engulfed by the vast sandy scenery, standing there completely lonely and almost out of place.   The ceramic jugs lightly clinked under your arms as you walked, and the noise immediately alerted your grey – furred friend.   In an instant, Asim straightened his neck and perked up his ears; suddenly becoming fully alert of his surrounding.

As it seems, he didn’t recognize you, for he suddenly started braying in fright, which sounded almost horrifying after a long time of absolute silence out here in the middle of nothing.   You were sure that even the villagers heard it.   Flinching, you gently lowered the jugs to the sandy ground and with slow, careful steps made your way to Asim.

”Shhh! Asim, shhh! It’s all right! It’s just me, (Name)!” you whispered to him, and tried to calm him down by raising both of your hands towards him in a defensive manner.

To this he was restlessly shifting his weight from his front legs to the back, his tail nervously swatting at the fence of his stall.   Stepping much closer to him, you moved one of your palms close to his wet muzzle.   In a matter of seconds, he stopped his braying and started curiously sniffing at your palms and hands.   You giggled and started patting his still and upright mane.

”Did you really not recognize me, my old friend?  Oh, Asim.  Shame on you,” you told him, jokingly feigning resentment and pouting at him.

You couldn’t really blame him, though.   He wasn’t in his youngest years anymore, having him since quite a while.   That he can still carry you and your baggage in this age is something to be admired for.   You sometimes even felt guilty, fearing that you overworked him.   Scratching his mane and along his neck, he showed his appreciation by letting out a loud puff of air from his nose and shortly resting his snout against your head.   At this you laughed again, before you friendly patted his back and opened the wooden door of his stall.

He diligently stepped out and after a few steps stopped, having learned to wait for you ’til you close the door.   After you did so, you went back to the stable and retrieved a basket - like saddle bag, that had its bags on either side of the saddle.   It was woven out of wood splints, and was one of your most helpful tools when it came to delivering water.   All you had to do is put two jugs in the east bag and two in the west, then fasten the saddle on Asim with the leather harnesses.  

They were strong; easily holding the jugs.   And you ought to know, since you were the one who made them.   Smiling at the memory how your mother taught you the art of basket weaving, you went back to Asim, before you did a complete trip down memory lane.   It would be nice if this tedious work would be done before the clock reaches ten, or else you’ll end up like a cooked egg in the desert.

Shaking your head, you deftly put the jugs in the saddle bags, before carefully picking up the saddle itself, and laying it on Asim’s sturdy back; Asim, all the while, was patiently waiting for you.   He was perfectly calm, the total opposite of what he was just five minutes ago, with his ears picking up the sound of your movements.   His posture did not change, even when you proceeded to fasten the belts of the saddle on his stomach.

You smiled at him, and stood up while lightly patting his rump.   ”Good boy,” you gently cooed at him, to which he only bobbed his head up and down, another loud puff of air escaping his snout.

Turning your head over your shoulder, you checked one more time if you left anything important behind, before your eyes widened in remembrance.

”Oh, right!” you exclaimed in a loud whisper while already being on your way back to your hut.

Once entering your kitchen, you grabbed your bag and jogged back to Asim.   On the way to him, your arm was already elbow – deep in your bag, searching for the slices of bread your saved for Asim.

The moment your fingers found them, you took them out and dangled it playfully in front of Asim’s mouth.   It took him no less than a second to recognize the food you were holding out for him, and he immediately opened his mouth, desperately trying to reach the slices of bread with his teeth.   You snickered, and quickly threw the slices in his mouth, before he chomped down your fingers.

He wasted no time, already chewing the bread with great enthusiasm, which elicited another chuckle from you.   ”I know how much you like bread,” you gently told him, before you patted his forehead.

While two slices of bread definitively won’t shoo his appetite away, it was enough for a little treat, before you two toured out in to the desert.   Grabbing the bridle’s reins, you lightly tugged at it, leading Asim on your way.

”C’mon, boy. Let’s get this over with.”

\---

The vast desert did not change since the last time you came to visit it.   No surprise, really.  

It was still as dry and sandy as ever; the only change being the wind, that suddenly decided to play with hordes of sand, shaping the dunes around you to its favor.   The arid air made your eyes sting with tears and so you pulled your shawl higher, ’til it engulfed your nose.   In the meantime you decided to mount Asim, all the while keeping your eyes on the jugs in the basket, that clinked with every movement of his. The dry sand under his hooves made soft crunching noises, and with the sand not being the most solid substances out there, one of his hooves slipped on the loose sand from time to time.

To this the jugs in the basket cried their discontentment with a loud clink, and even you weren’t far from tumbling down Asim’s back.   Your equestrian companion straightened himself back and gave out a sound that resembled a quiet moan.   At this, you immediately dismounted, the sand under your feet giving out a loud whisper from your landing, before you stepped next to Asim’s head.

”I am already too heavy for you, aren’t I?  Or are you just tired, my dear?” you asked him, gently stroking his neck.   ”It’s all right, boy.  You’re already doing your best, I won’t mount you again.”

Asim gave out another moan and shook his head side – to – side, before giving out a big yawn.   You smiled, finding him adorable, before you glanced up to the sky. You two were already traveling for more than half an hour, and sure enough, the sun was already visible on the horizon.   Fortunately, the temperature remained bearable, and if your calculations were right, you two would need only a bit more time before reaching the well.

With a sigh, you lightly tugged at his reins, and started to lead him through the never ending trails of sand and dust.   ”It shouldn’t be long before we arrive there,” you told Asim encouragingly, albeit it sounded more like you were encouraging yourself.   ...But to your utmost relief, you weren’t even that far from the truth.

Because there, just in front of the far off sand mountains was the distinctive shape of a tiny struction built out of rocks and mud.   A big smile immediately replaced your worry etched face, and – without you even realizing - started walking faster; the clinking of the jugs getting louder and louder behind you.   ”See? I told you we’ll arrive there soon,” you said to Asim, completely happy that you were closer to cross out this task on your today’s to – do list.

    ...And that’s when you saw _it_.

In a matter of seconds, your controlled glee turned in to shock and alarm.   Suddenly halting in your steps, you gasped loudly, which caused Asim to violently jerk back, the jugs clinking their loudest at this hasty movement.   Asim, trying to get back his stable footing, slightly moved behind you and nervously raised his legs up.   But for the first time today, you didn’t pay any attention to him.

Completely rooted to your place, you lost all connection to your surrounding.   Time seemed to stop still, and everything went mute.   All you could do was stare at a spot not far away from the well.

    ...Because there, in the glistening sand, was a _someone_ – face down lying on the ground.   Motionless.

Your brain froze with dread as you continued staring at the person, helplessly and unmovingly lying before the well.   You felt your throat going dry.   Asim’s head slightly bumped your shoulder, which then managed to snap you out of your shock.  

With another gasp, you broke out in to a run, though the thick sand piling under your feet made it difficult to reach the body as fast as you would have liked it to.   Still, after a few minutes, you finally reached the form, all the while heavily wheezing from all the running in your loose and layered clothing that sometimes got tangled in your legs.   However, before you fully reached the unmoving body, you suddenly stopped and narrowed your eyes at it.

Even from afar you could tell that they were wearing expensive clothing, which was typically colorful and flashy.   The person, that was now just a few steps away from you, wore an attire dyed in royal blue and decorated with yellow stripes.   And if the black harem pants did not instantly give it away, the white turban pretty much made you assume that the person in front of you was male.

A _rich_ one, at that.

Biting your lip, you hesitated.   What should you do now?   Should you travel back to the village and call for help or stay here and shake him awake? That is ...if he is still alive?

This thought made your heart sink, and you didn’t even notice how your feet lead you right next to the man, the horrid thought having such an impact on them.   Stepping closer, you were almost about to reach out to his shoulder when the sight of his scimitar(1) made you stop in fright.  It was dangerously glinting in the sunlight, resting just beside his form. Like a rattle snake, ready to attack.

Eyes widening to their sockets, you couldn’t stop staring at the sharp end of the weapon, getting scared the longer you stared at it.  ...And it was then when another horrible thought crossed your mind, which made you suddenly leap back a good few steps in terror.  What if this was a trap?  What if he is a bandit and he is faking himself unconscious just so he could attack the next unsuspecting person who happens to stumble upon him?  Maybe he stole those clothes from some noble man to lure people on...?  

You trembled.  For all you knew, he could stand up any minute and attack you or even kill you or do whatever bandits do to their victims.

The thought made your heart skip in fear and you were already about to run back to Asim and get the hell out of here... - 

   ... But then stopped.   ...And cast one more worried glance over your shoulder at the man.

He was still lying there, just as motionlessly as you had found him, the only moving thing on him being the end of his robes that were lightly swaying whenever a light breeze passed by.   You watched him from this safe distance for a few more minutes, feverishly thinking the whole situation trough.   ...Before eventually you closed your eyes and shook your head.

No ...that can’t be.   Why would he fake his unconsciousness here, in the middle of nowhere? He would have to wait days for someone to show up and attack them.   Until then he’d starve to death here under the scorching heat of the desert.   It just wouldn’t make any sense.   If he really wanted to attack someone by faking unconsciousness, he would have done this near the gate of the village.

And anyway.   You have been around him for a good few minutes now.   You were sure that the sand whispering under your steps, the nervous puffs of air from Asim or even the clinking of jugs could have been well heard by him.   If he really was conscious and wanted to attack you, he would have done so a good while ago.   But he did not.

Now you had the urge to quietly laugh at yourself.   ’Looks like the silly horror stories from the elderly women of the village have gotten to me.’

But there was still something that struck you as odd about the man.   No baggage beside or even around him.   Nor a camel.   ...Well, at least you assumed that he must have traveled with a camel, since nobility most definitively did not travel on the back of donkeys.   That being said, you doubted that he was attacked, considering that his scimitar is still by his side.   Bandits would have long before stolen his weapon, along with his expensive attire.   And if the man before you really is of royal status, they would have kidnapped him too.

Either taken as ransom or to sell him away as a slave.   You shivered again at the thought.   Poor sod.   He was lucky to be found by you.

   ...That is, if he is still alive.   You still didn’t check his pulse.

 Stalling yourself, you now bravely approached him with big, sturdy steps, and crouched down beside him.   Biting your lip, you raised your shaking hand and tentatively rested it on the man’s shoulder.    After the man before you did not give any reaction to this, you slowly turned him around and on his back, already fearing the sight that will greet you.   You half expected to see a rotten face, filled with bugs and worms or even dead and wide open eyes staring ahead in to nothing... - 

   ...but instead you saw something completely else.

Your eyes widened in awe when your sight settled itself on the handsome (and completely intact) face of a young man.   His eyes were closed and his lips half open; his eyebrows arching upwards, most probably from distress.   His skin was flawless and despite being in the desert, quite pale.   It was smooth and impeccable, like porcelain.   Blinking in surprise, you couldn’t stop tracing his features with your eyes, from his raven black hair and sharp nose, to his pale lips and strong jaw.

He was devilishly good looking.   Even with his hair laying disheveled across his forehead, and sandcorns decorating his face.   Your heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

’A beautiful prince perhaps...?’

As in a trance, you lightly reached out and rested your hand against his cheek.   He was still warm, much to your relief.   Then you slowly leaned in and turned your head; your ear facing his mouth.

But you didn’t need to listen too long, before you heard his soft breathing, his cool breath lightly hitting the shell of your ear.   You drew back, and just to be sure, slipped your fingers past the layers of his scarf and rested them on his neck.   With bathed breath you waited for the distinctive signs of life...

...and loudly exhaled in relief, when you felt the light throbbing against your fingers.   ’He is alive!’, you thought with much gratefulness, and smiled at him.

As if the weather around you heaved a sigh of relief as well, a breeze coming from north - east suddenly picked up and caressed your back and shoulders.   It also picked up strands of the stranger’s locks and started swaying them, tussling his hair even more.   You, without hesitation, brushed his bangs aside, and gently caressed his face one more time.   A good few moments passed like this, with you gently caressing the young man’s face and admiring him, the wind quietly singing around you two. In the distance you could vaguely hear Asim’s steps, coming closer and closer to you.

But deep in thought, you could only stare at the dark haired man in front of you, and thought the whole situation once more through.   He must have passed out, you concluded inwardly.

And that was the only logical explanation that came to your mind right now.   A rich, young man lays unconsciously in the sand, with him being still alive and his weapon and clothes by his side, but no luggage or any kind of animal – powered - transport to be seen around him.   He must have, for whatever reason, traveled out in to the desert and either passed out from hunger, thirst or fatigue.

He was properly dressed for a trip out in to this desert, so you doubted the heat had gotten to him.   His turban should have prevented that.   By the time you figured out what has possibly happened to the stranger, Asim reached you and stopped just beside you; the jugs lightly clinking from his halt.   At this you broke your gaze away from the man and glanced up at him.

Standing up, you reached towards his head, and patted his forehead.

”Asim,” you whispered to him, afraid that the stranger would wake up if you talked louder,  ”I have a big favor to ask from you.  I know I told you that I won’t mount you again, and I won’t. But I will need your help with carrying this man back to our hut.  Please forgive me, but I hope you understand.  We can’t just leave him out here...,” you told him, and at the end of your sentence glanced back to the unconscious lying man.

Asim only blinked at you, and you quietly snickered.   ”I will help you.  I’ll carry two jugs in my hands, so you wont have to carry so much.”

He only yawned again, and flipped his ears sideways.   Smiling at him, you grabbed his reins and lead him closer to the well.   After that, you opened the saddle bags and retracted the jugs from either side of him.  Laying all four down in the sand, you grabbed one and stepped to the well.   As you neared the little wall around the well, you grabbed the wooden bracket resting on it.

A rope was tied to its handle, and after tightly grabbing it, you lowered the bucket down the hand dug well to the fresh groundwater.   While you were bailing out the colorless liquid, you occasionally glanced back to the handsome stranger in the sand, absentmindedly wondering what color his eyes had.

\---

The way back to your hut was surprisingly shorter.   Carrying two jugs filled to the brim with water, you worriedly watched Asim shambling beside you. With slow and heavy steps, he managed to carry the stranger and the jugs on his back at the same time.   From time to time, however, he would stop and glance at you with big, teary eyes and groan, to which you would quietly and consolingly whisper him promises of a fast return to your hut.

Of course, Asim wasn’t the only one you were worried about right now.   Glancing to the man hauled over Asim’s back, you let out a quiet sigh of anxiety.   To be honest, you had not much of an idea what you would do to him, once you reached your home.   But you were sure that he must be in some serious state of unconsciousness, if he still didn’t wake up.

He didn’t even stir, even after you hauled him over your donkey’s back.   You just hoped that you could patch him up, because ending up with a dead man in your home would be anything but pleasant.   Were would you even bury him? And what if someone found out? They’d be prone to think that you murdered him.  And if his attire truly reflects his wealthy ancestry, you’d pay for it with your life.   How would you even prove your innocence?   Would anyone even take you seriously if you told them the truth?  Your breathing getting difficult, you exhaled and felt your chest sting painfully.

’No! I must stop thinking like this! Everything’s going to be alright. I’ll brew some tea and apply some cold, wet rag on his forehead. That should help him!’

From the moment you decided that you’d take him home, you knew, that you couldn’t go in the village and ask for help.  You knew that you’ll have to care for him on your own.  But times like these were the ones when you were more than thankful for not living in the village, but outside of it.  Imagine if someone saw you like this; carrying someone of high rank on an old donkey’s back.

Just thinking about this made you more nervous.   You could practically feel your hands shaking, and you stalled yourself, before you accidentally dropped the jugs.  ’Calm down, (Name!)’, you chanted to yourself, trying to get your breathing back to a normal tempo.

But the wind started blowing stronger, flipping your shawl and robes in every direction, and even Asim got anxious, by the way he started to turn his head side to side.  The sun was already high up, but the heat faded away under the strong wind.   The clinking of jugs got louder and louder, so you stepped closer to Asim, and briefly rested your head against his.

”Atta, boy! Calm down.  We’ll be shortly home, I promise.”

At this, Asim let out a nervous puff of air and continued following you.  The forceful wind picked up sand from the ground and dropped it once it raised it in the air.  Coughing, you pulled up your shawl and squinted.  A sand storm approached.

\---

Half an hour later, and you were home.   Hurrying inside, you immediately poured the water from the jugs in your wooden barrel.  The dry wind outside grew in force, tugging at everything that was in its way.   Sand was flying everywhere, obscuring your sight and erasing the horizon line from the wast sand mountains around you.   Considering that your worry came true, you were at a great hurry to bring the stranger and Asim back to safety.

Carefully pulling the stranger down from Asim’s back, you pulled his arm over your shoulder and dragged him inside.  His legs brushing against the sand had left a trail behind you, but the sand almost immediately swept it away.   Entering your hut, the noise of the sandstorm instantly quieted down and you appreciated not having the sandy wind push against your from from every direction.

Hauling him up higher, you carried him inside your room.  Before you laid him down on your bed, you heard a quiet groan escape his lips, which made you flinch in fear.

With bathed breath, you stood frozen in your place, waiting if he uttered any other sound, but after a few more seconds of not hearing anything, you proceeded to lower him down on your bed. Then you immediately left your room and ran out back to Asim.   Poor thing was already braying, being too afraid of the storm.  Resting both of your hands on either side of his head, you tried to calm him down by whispering all kinds of reassurances.

He blinked back at you and then flicked his ears.  Smiling, you hastily grabbed his reins and as fast as you could, lead him back to his stable.  ”Come on, boy! Hurry!”

After you ushered him inside his crate, you went and removed the saddle from his back.   Putting it safely away, you went back and poured him water in his trough and with a pitchfork scratched together a pile of hay, giving it to him.   Despite being short of breath, you still had the energy to ruffle up his mane and scratch along his neck, even giving him a pat on his back.

”Good boy.  Thank you so much for everything, my friend,” you whispered.   He softly snorted through his nose, and shook his head.

Patting his head one more time, you turned around and left the stable.  Running back to your hut, you immediately made your way to your kitchen and started searching your cupboard for rags and anything helpful. You found a greyish – white one, which you yourself used if you ever had fever.   Deeming it good enough, you grabbed it, closing your cupboard, then went and reached for a plate sized bowl and filled it with cold, fresh water from your barrel.   Being done with that, you pivoted on your heel and rushed back inside your room.

The stranger was still laying on your bed, with eyebrows furrowed painfully.  Kneeling before your bed, you observed him for a short while with worry etched features, while putting down the rag and bowl beside you.  Taking a deep breath and biting your lip, you carefully reached over and started removing his turban and shawl.

This often required you to slip your hand under his head and raise it, as to properly remove the piece of clothing.   You were slow and weary at first, but after you saw him remain unresponsive, you grew a bit bolder and picked up your pace.   Several seconds later, you managed to get his turban and shawl off of him.  Neatly folding it, you put it on your chair adjacent to your bed and tip – toed back to him.  Now that he had no headcloth, you were surprised to see that he wore a black belly shirt.

It fitted snugly against his taut chest and brought out his pale complexion even more.   ...Though you felt your cheeks getting warm as your eyes wandered south and rested themselves on his exposed abdominal muscles.   They were quite well developed... _...In fact!_ Seeing him this close and without his headcloth, you could clearly see that he had overall a very good physique.

Lean and toned.   With a deep V line.   And while you felt your blush worsening by the minute, the color from your cheek immediately vanished when your eyes continued their way south.  ...And your mouth fell open.

His belt - ! It was made out of _gold_.   Blinking twice, you could only sit there and stare agape at his waistline, not believing your eyes.   Feeling your fingers twitch, you had half the mind to reach out and touch it.   In your whole entire life, you have never ever seen gold this close.   To you it was just a far away, unreachable substance that would never cross your way.

But another soundless gasp escaped you, when you saw that the bracelets on his upper arm being made out of gold as well.   And that is when your worry resurfaced.

’Just how rich is this man?!’ you asked yourself, while you started to unconsciously fumble with your own robes.   You were starting to second guess your actions.   Was it wise to bring this young man back to your hut?  But one glance at your window already made you answer your own question.

The sand storm outside was already on a serious rampage, creating dust clouds everywhere.  The stranger by now would have been buried under sand and forgotten there.  He would have died out there and a long amount of time would have passed before someone even stumbled upon his corpse.   ...Or even not.   You couldn’t just leave him out there alone, now could you?

Biting your lip, you tore your gaze away from his bracelets.   Instead you glanced at his weapon.   The scimitar was still fastened to his waist, quietly hiding in its sheath.   Either out of instinct or simple paranoia, but you were quite weary of it.   Even more because you didn’t know what the stranger would do if he woke up.   Is there a possibility that he would attack you with it?

Shivering at the thought, you hugged yourself.   ’So what should I do now...?’

Torn between your thoughts, you found yourself lost on this matter.   You were certain that he was not a bandit.   No bandit was this well groomed as this man in front of you.  And his attire clearly gave it away that he was of noble rank, and if that’s really the case, then he would certainly not attack you or take advantage of you...   ...would he?

Letting out a breath of frustration, you clenched at your robe.   ’I think it would be wise if I removed his scimitar.  I’d put it on my chair. Just to be safe’.

Stalling yourself, you carefully reached over to his waist.  The cold surface of the sword’s hilt against your fingers made you shiver.  To them, the touch felt so unfamiliar.   Still, this very thing you were just touching now may end your life later, so you better not make a mistake.   Feeling your heart painfully palpitate, you focused on untying the string that fastened the scimitar to his waist.

With nimble fingers, you set to work, even leaned in closer, while trying to tug at his harem pants as little as you could.   ”...Damn it all!” you quietly cursed as you realized that the knot was much too tight for you to unloose it.   Of course, it came as no surprise, since this murderous object was probably heavier than you, and you were sure that it even had a bigger price than you...

   ...But what came as utter surprise and terror to you was a pale hand suddenly grabbing yours.

”AAaagh..!” you cried out of shock, as you instantly jumped up and away from your bed.   Looking up, your eyes landed back on the hand, that was now protectively gripping the scimitar, before they rested on the owner’s face of said hand.   Confused deep blue eyes met your wide ones.   The stranger awakened.

Scared and uncertain, you slowly took a few steps back.   The stranger all the while was heavily breathing and followed every movement of yours with his eyes.   After they focused in on you, he suddenly spoke up.

 ”...H- hey.  What’s the big idea?”

His voice was weak and raspy, but that didn’t make his tone sound less threatening.   You gulped, having a really hard time finding your voice.

”I – I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were awak - ”

”Who are you? And where am I?” he suddenly asked, impatiently interrupting your stuttering.   His eyes narrowed at the shabby place he found himself in, and you suddenly felt a bit ashamed of your hut. You made your best to make it look as clean as possible, but no matter how much you worked on it, it still remained a modest little hut.   For someone like him it must have looked like a dumpster of sort.   You quietly cleared your throat and raised your head a bit higher, in a measly attempt to save whats left of your dignity.

”I am (Name).  And you’re in my _house_.   I brought you here, because if I didn’t you’d be still out in the desert and dead.”

At your introduction, he snapped his eyes from the ceiling of your hut to you, making you nervous.   He must have not liked your tone. He is nobility after all; people don’t speak to him like this.

Lowering your head, you apologized.   Silence followed and he didn’t say anything, just laid there and stared at you.   You helplessly stared back at him and watched as he slowly sat up on your bed. As he looked down, he realized that his headcloth was missing, but didn’t seem to be too surprised.   ”Your clothes are here,” you quietly told him, while pointing to your chair.

He followed your finger and nodded.   But you, starting to feel really awkward, felt the need to explain why you just undressed him, lest he got the wrong idea.

”I removed your turban and shawl because I wanted to see if you had any injuries.  I found you passed out before a well, and wasn’t sure what happened to you.  Please forgive me.”

”As I said – it’s fine.”

That instantly shut you up.   Fidgeting with your robes, a question wanted to resurface on your tongue.   One that was on your mind since you stumbled up on him.  Opening your mouth, you braved to ask him.

”May I know... what happened to you?”

He did not answer right away, only stared at his feet in silence.   At first you thought he didn’t hear you, even though you asked him loud enough, but then you saw him furrow his brows at the ground.   As if he was ...thinking?

”...Water.”

You blinked in confusion.   ”...Pardon?”

”Water,” he repeated it louder.  ”I was searching for water.  We... I mean, I ran out of water.  Then I found that well, but... I must have passed out before I could reach it,” he recalled with a lowered head.   By now it was more like he was explaining this all to himself and not to you.  You patiently waited for him to finish, but even after you listened to him, you were still confused.

Why was this young man searching for water?  Was he travelling and he ran out of it?  Did someone steal his waterskin? You made sure to ask him once you got the chance.

  ...Which was not now, because suddenly he raised his head and looked at you with eyes taking over something pleading.  ”Please ...could you give me some water?” he croaked out, painfully gulping after he finished his sentence.  With mouth agape, you stared at him before you nodded and stepped to the bowl full of water, just at the side of your bed.

You carefully grabbed it by its edges and raised to him, your eyes never leaving your bowl.   He grabbed it from your hands and drank the water out of it at sight.  You watched as he eagerly swallowed the fresh water; a thin stream of water dripping down from the corner of his mouth.   He finished with a loud gasp.   Either from ease or fatigue but he closed his eyes and left his mouth parted for a miniscule while, like he was praying or giving a thank you to some God.

You watched him with worry.   Poor boy must have been really thirsty.   ”Do you want some more?” you quietly asked him.

He opened his eyes and shifted them down to your crouching figure.   The admiring expression, that was clearly sent for the water, got stuck on his face and was now directed at you.   You couldn’t keep yourself from blushing.   But he nodded and added a meek little ’please’, to which you immediately made your way out to your kitchen, all the while pulling your shawl down, trying to hide your cheeks.

\---

With a grunt, you dragged a big washing bowl in the center of your little room.

It was made out of fine wood, though time had already chipped off the surface of it from here and there.   Still, it was in good condition and you were ever so grateful to have it.   It always came in handy.   And while you usually used it to wash your clothes and other things, now you were about to use it for something not even so completely different.

Still, it came as a big surprise when the stranger shyly asked you if you could draw him a bath of some sorts.   He told you that he felt dirty and uncomfortable, and that you would do him a great favor if you could wash him, for he felt too fatigued to do that.  This further proved your guess, that he was a nobleman.  Because even if he requested this in the most polite manner possible, he still requested for a _bath_.

But you did not mind.  You would have done this, even if he was just an everyday commoner.  Heaven knows how long he was lying out there, unconscious and completely vulnerable.  He deserved this much, you mused.   And thus, you heated some water from your barrel and poured it all in the washing bowl; the hot steam immediately rising up and filling up your room.  Sighing from the sudden humidity, you turned around and almost dropped your jug, when you saw the man already being halfway done with undressing himself.  Hastily averting your eyes to the ground, you felt heat rising to your cheeks, and tried as quietly as you could to make your way out and wait in the kitchen ’til he was done with undressing himself.

You were almost out of your room, when you caught him from the corner of your eyes removing the last piece of clothing from himself.   As his black pants hit the ground, he immediately leapt in to the washing bowl and you took this as your cue to leave before you saw too much.   But you didn’t get far.

”Where are you going? Didn’t you said that you would wash me?” he asked, strangely calm and you had to wonder how he wasn’t embarrassed being nude in the presence of a woman he barely knew.

Not having the courage to turn around, you just stopped in your tracks and replied.   ”Y – yes, I did, but I forgot to bring a towel and a sponge. I’ll be right back.”

And with this, you hurriedly left, wanting to kick yourself for letting your voice sound so nervous.  The man in your room only cocked an eyebrow at your retreating form and glanced down.  The sponge and towels were just beside the bathing bowl.

\---

After having a mini panic attack in your kitchen, which consisted of you wringing your robes and biting your lip, you stalled yourself and went back to your room.   ...But not before you slapped some water in your face and took a few deep breaths.   You have never in your whole entire life seen a naked man, and if someone from the village found out that you were willingly washing a nude man you didn’t even know...

 ... _boy_ , would you get a reputation.

Though the man in your bath didn’t seem really upset about your short departure, for he was resting his head against the brim of the wooden surface when you returned; with eyes closed and lips parted in appreciation for the sudden luxury of having warm and clean water.  When you stepped closer, he popped his eyes open and followed your movements, but did not change his position ’til you completely reached the bowl.   Before you grabbed the sponge, however, you grabbed your shawl and unwrapped it from your head.

The steam from the water was making you hot and you deemed it wiser to not make this harder for yourself.   After you were done with that, you silently crouched down, perfectly positioning yourself behind the stranger’s shoulders.   When he saw that, he slid himself a bit closer to the center, so you could properly reach his back.

The moment your sponge touched his skin, a soft sigh escaped his lips and he couldn’t help but close his eyes.   You were careful and hesitant at first, trying not to touch him with anything but the sponge.   Your hand was violently shaking and you hoped that he didn’t notice it somehow, for that would bring you even more humiliation.

It was a wonder that you could even properly hold the damn sponge.

”Why did you save me?”

  ...And there goes the blasted thing, falling in the water with a big, wet _splash_.  Him suddenly speaking startled you, being too absorbed in keeping your eyes on his back and only his back.

Reaching for your sponge in the water, you answered, a bit embarrassed, because he saw your clumsy move.   ”I did not have the heart to leave you out there. I would have had trouble sleeping at night.”

Finding your sponge, you grabbed it and resumed to wash his shoulders and the back of his neck, while he quietly ruminated on your reply.   After a bit of silence, however, he asked you again.

”Where is my luggage?”

The question sounded more like he already knew the answer.   ”I ...don’t know.  I found you all alone with no luggage or anything.”

”And my camel?”

Looks like you were also right about his animal companion.  You gulped.

”There wasn’t any camel around you.  I’m really sorry.”

He only nodded and lowered his head, when you trailed your sponge up to the place where his head met his neck.   He quietly hummed, as little streaks of water started to gutter down on either side of his neck, little droplets falling in between his legs.   And even though you made sure not to brush against his skin with your fingers, it did happen from time to time, and unbeknownst to you, the raven haired man found himself actually liking your touch.

It was delicate and soft, giving him goosebumps.   ”May I know your name?” you suddenly asked, still behind him, and now it was his turn to be startled by your sudden choice to speak.   Head still lowered, he blinked behind his dark bangs, before he answered.

”... Just call me Haru.”

The slight hesitation to reveal his name did not escape your notice.   But you did not think much about it.   If he really is of noble rank, you could understand.  ...Come to think of it, you still had to find out about that, you thought as your eyes shifted from his head back to your hands.   But there were a couple of other things that got your attention about him.   Namely, his posture, which was getting more and more relaxed, slowly yet surely losing its rigidness, with his shoulders starting to drop forward and his back curving outside. You enjoyed watching his skin and muscle react to your touches, getting tense and then unwind.  He was completely at your mercy.

_Little did you know just how much._

_\---_

Hot lips eagerly descended down on your neck,  teasing the soft skin without a shred of  shame.  A quiet whimper left your lips, and you couldn’t help but drop your head back as the dark haired man only pressed your body further in to his.

He was anything but shy; greedily marking your neck with burning pecks and nibbles.  His hums of pleasure against your ear made a strange prickling sensation curse through your entire body.  Letting out a sigh once more, you slithered your hands in his hair, tugging at his ebony locks and were instantly rewarded with a quiet, teasing groan.

You didn’t really know how everything escalated to this, but your mind was too high from complete euphoria to even think about anything but how good it felt when his chiseled and toned torso pressed in to yours.   The only thing you remember was that this handsome and mysterious man in front of you kindly requested a bath from you and you complied out of  pure altruism.  Seeing how tired and disoriented he was, you thought he deserved this much. 

You helped him out by washing his back and shoulders, secretly enjoying having to touch his toned back and his alabaster skin.  You were never this intimate with a man before.  Having been too immersed in the details of his back, you failed to notice the way his breathing started getting heavier and how he started breathing heavier.  All his sighs of appreciation were misunderstood for the warm bath.

So it came as quite the surprise, when he all of a sudden  dragged you in the wooden bowl after your hands started to wander somewhere private.  Soaking wet and quite taken aback by his forwardness, you didn’t even have time to react as he suddenly, hungrily pressed his lips against yours.

”I’m sorry,” he breathed against your mouth, ”I’m just...,” he continued between kisses,  not knowing how to finish his reasoning, being too enticed by your lips.  You only felt pure excitement bubble up inside of you, as you kissed him back, taking up his call with an undiscovered yearning deep inside of you.

 Any kind of hesitation instantly disappeared the moment you saw his eyes clouded with all kinds of dark intentions and noticed the state you managed to drive his manhood in.

Thus he was here, settled in between your legs and pressing you in to the still lukewarm water, ravishing you like you were some expensive dessert from far away.  He kissed every part of you with such great fervor and intensity that it made your heart jump with pleasure.

His hands were  hard at work, teasingly massaging your sensitive folds and holding your nude body close to his.  So close that your soft breasts were snugly pressed up against his chest,  and whenever your perked up buds grazed against his, the both of you shuddered with tender pleasure. 

His length was already eagerly poking your thigh, and you wondered how long he will try to ignore his need.  But judging by his panting, that was starting to become  harsher and harsher, not for long.

But apparently long enough to suddenly take his occupied hand away from your heat and _f_ irmly grope both of your breasts; having had enough with them  caressing his chest.  You mewled out and he drank it all up with harshly pressing his lips against yours and swallowing every whimper, every moan, every breath from you.

Tongue darting in, he started hungrily tracing your cavern , while his hands still remained on your chest, vigorously squeezing them and pinching your pink buds.  All this attention from him made you feel flustered yet flattered.  

    Mind going hazy, you couldn’t do much but moan in his mouth and squirm under his hands.  And it was clear that he was enjoying this as much as you:  your feminine curves against his, squirming, dancing, struggling, his cupped hands being perfectly filled out with your plump and round breasts.  Your tongue was perfectly in sync with his and the sweet, womanly moans and whimpers muffled by his mouth set his blood on fire.  Seconds passed with him zealously pleasuring you, groping you, touching you, kissing you, before he felt the harsh puffs of breath escape your nose and hit his cheek.  He broke the lust filled kiss, and watched with great interest as you tried to regain your breath.

You looked so captivating with cheeks red, lips swollen from kissing, hair tussled and wet.  When you finally opened your eyes, having filled your lungs with enough air, it must have triggered in him something.

With a grunt, he swooped down again and pressed your breasts together, taking both of your buds in his mouth.  You breathed out and with a jolt straightened your spine, pushing your chest further in to his mouth and gripping his head for dear life.  He was ardently sucking and teasing the sensitive skin with his teeth, while his hands busied themselves with travelling down your curves and stopping at your behind, before greedily squeezing both of your buttocks.

Head lolling back, you moaned again and  pressed your hips further against his, your heat brushing against his length.  By now, he was near going mad.

With labored breathing, he rested his forehead against yours and stared in your eyes with a dark, unusual glint.  You could only return his stare for a few seconds, before you got embarrassed and shifted your eyes to the side, but he leaned in and gingerly brushed his lips against your cheek.

You shivered at his gentle act, feeling him start another path of kisses to your earlobe.  

”I’m going to...,” he whispered unfinished to your ear and you gave a nod, letting him know your consent.  Seeing this, he let a few more wet kisses linger behind your ear, before his fingers curled at your waist and he thrust forward, sliding his rock – hard member inside of you, making you roll your eyes back and silently open your mouth.

A deep moan from followed, as he slid himself further inside of you, filling you up just _perfectly_. Your warm and wet muscles contracted around him and he had to break away from your neck, sighing out his appreciation.  It only took him so much, before he lowered his head and rested it in the crook of your neck, trying to focus.

And before you knew it, he started moving.  His pace was slow and intimate, your sweat coated stomach brushing against his, only fueling the heat in your loins.  The action itself was amorous yet had a strange sadistic touch to it as well; both of you enjoying the steady, leisure flow of your love making while also yearning impatiently for something more.  You were the first to cave in, exhilarated by the new experience, and so you gradually started to buck your hips up against him and he let you know he liked it by leaving open – mouthed kisses on your collarbone.  

The water around you two was loudly sloshing back and forth, sometimes even spilling out from the tub whenever the man in front of you happened to ram his narrow hips against yours with greater impulse.  And it was now for the first time that you did not care about the water nor about your tub, only being preoccupied by the man in front of you, who was ever so _keenly_ pounding himself inside of you.

Out of intuition, you decided to lock your ankles around his waist, positioning yourself closer to his pelvis, and this exact decision of yours allowed him to hit a sweet, _sweet_ spot deep inside of you.

You cried out breathlessly, and he gathered his last strength, starting to hit that spot repeatedly with all his might. You sank your nails in his porcelain skin to which he gritted his teeth.

You two were close, oh so close, to reach... –!

You moaned out one last time, feeling his cock twitch inside you and fill you up with his seed, while his grip on your waist tightening momentarily before it faltered.  After the wave of ecstasy left both of you rooted in the bathtub, too spent to do anything for a while, the man in front of you positioned his heated cheek on your shoulder, opting to calm his beating heart there, quietly listening to your pants as you too were trying to regain you breath.  He watched the rise and fall of your bare chest, noting the goosebumps that were slowly vanishing away on your smooth skin.

When he no longer felt your whimpers and breaths hitting the shell of his ear, he slowly pulled out his member and raised your fatigue ridden body out of the tub. The water around you loudly fell and guttered down as he stepped out of your wooden tub. You were numb as he carried you bridal style to your bed and gingerly laid you down on it.

Snatching the towel from the ground, he lazily dried himself, before he sat down on your bed and did the same to you.  By now you were already soundly sleeping and his eyes drank in the sight of your body one last time, observing the marks he left behind with innocent curiosity.

When he was finished wiping away the cascading droplets of water off of your skin, he folded the towel and put it on your chair, before he joined you.  Strong arms encircled your waist as he buried his head in your damp hair, breathing in your beauty, your scent.

As his eyelids closed shut, he sighed; savoring this moment with his rose by whom he was lucky enough to be found in this vast and dry desert.         

_\---_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (1) Peaonia - Today's Macedonia  
> (2) Shamshir - Persian cousin of the Scimitar  
> (3) komuz: A Kyrgyz instrument and one of the main national symbols of Kyrgyztan.   
> (4) Howdah: A carriage, mostly positioned on the back of an elephant or camels.

”(Name), my dear.  Please bring me the crate that arrived just recently from Paeonia(1).  You know, the one with the red mark on it.”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you turned your attention to the old merchant, who was currently standing just outside the shop, with wrinkles kindly smiling at you.  Beside him stood a young man, - a customer you realized – patiently waiting and nonchalantly observing the people around him.  Putting two and two together, you smiled and nodded.

”Of course.”

And with that, you were already on your way to retrieve said object.   Entering a well – hidden stock room built in the back of the shop, you squinted your eyes, trying to find the marked crate in the dimly lit place.   It was fully packed with all kinds of goods, and despite it being one of the most quietest places you could think of, you rarely visited it.   Living in the subtropical zone, the heat was prone to get unbearable and this little secluded room didn’t have what it takes to ward off that heat.   The air here was thinner and combined with dust made it near lethal.

But it was perfect for storing everything, so you didn’t mind.   Between flying dust specks, your eyes got stuck on a crate that was situated right in the corner.   On it was a representative huge red mark – a written word, you later realized.   It had strange, liny letters; but it’s meaning got completely lost on you.   While wondering in what kind of language it was written, you swiftly went to grab it and tried not to bump in to anything else.

As you lifted it up, you surprisingly realized that it wasn’t particularly heavy – if anything!   ’Must be clothes,’ you inwardly assumed.

Turning around, you stepped outside and went back to the old merchant, who was just in the middle of a polite chat with the young man from before.  The moment you reappeared, the latter immediately snapped his attention from the merchant to you.   Bright teal eyes locked with yours - just for a moment - but it was enough for you to silently gasp in awe.  Among dark orbs, bright colored eyes were considered especially exotic and rare, and you don’t remember ever seeing such a mesmerizing hue from the color blue.

You let your eyes linger on his for another short moment, before they shifted back to the elderly man.   ”Here it is,” you told him kindly, holding the crate out to him.

He smiled back to you, taking it over.   ”Thank you, my dear.”

Nodding to him, you turned on your heel and headed back inside the shop.   The young man’s eyes shamelessly followed your form until you disappeared from sight, lingering on the spot for a few more seconds where he last saw you.   This did not escape the old merchant’s notice.   Teasingly smiling, he poked him with the edge of the crate.

”Never seen a woman before?” He chuckled, while he observed the man’s squarish face, and was quite surprised when the man in front of him did not start chuckling with him.  ...Nor did he blush or get flustered.   He didn’t even turn his head back to him, still staring in the direction you left with a dead serious face.   Finding this a bit strange, he blinked back where you left, before he looked back at him.

”Do you know her already?”

The man still did not face him.  ”No...”

Growing more confused, the merchant could only stare at him.  He saw a muscle working in the young man’s jaw, as he still continued staring inside the shop.  Not really knowing what to say, the old man cleared his throat, wanting to get back to business talk, before the man in front of him prevented just that.   ”Who is she?” he asked quietly but all the more seriously, as if he was afraid that someone could overhear him.   The merchant’s eyes slightly widened, a small conjecture forming in the back of his mind, as to why the man in front of him seemed so interested in you.  He smiled.

”Her name is (Name).   She is my assistant, and a great help to my shop.  Ever so diligent and responsible, not to mention trustworthy. I never had any problem with her working here,” he finished, hoping that he didn’t tell him too much, or too little.   Just enough to tickle his interest in you a bit more.

”(Name), is it...,” he quietly mumbled to himself, and looked as if learning your name brought him in a heavy daze.   His eyes were still lingering on the entrance for a few more seconds, silently absorbing the new information, before he faced the old merchant for the first time since you walked back in to the shop.   Said old man, however, gulped as he saw the man’s eyes suddenly harden, successfully managing to make him look more stoic and serious.

”Is she married?” He asked, and the merchant inwardly let out a quiet sigh, for his assumption turned out to be right.  Veiling his excitement and happiness, he tentatively smiled back at the man.

”No, my young one.  She is not.”

The man seemed pleased with what he heard, by the way his shoulder relaxed.  Though his face still remained void of emotion, the intimidating air that surrounded him seemed to lessen in its intensity.  But the merchant was more than patient, (or perhaps just really curious) observing this usually poker – faced man slightly lose his cool facade.  He had known him since only a few years ago, having had a really good business – like relationship with him, but never did he have the opportunity to see anything crawl on his face, other than the occasional frown or an aloof stare.

He was a man of few faces, to say the least.   The young man’s eyes shifted to his feet, quietly ruminating about something while his lips slightly eased out of the tight frown he sported since he arrived here.   Then his lips parted again.

”What about her parents? About her father? May I speak to him?” He asked, the genuine tone of his showing just how serious he was taking this. S till, the question made the old man’s face wilt a bit from it’s usual smiley self.  Letting out a sigh, he raised his time ridden hand and helplessly rested it on the back of his neck.

”Oh, if only I knew that, my son,” he started a bit gloomily.  ”I have never really heard her speaking about them, and I myself was never courageous enough to ask about them, since I was afraid that I’d leap on something too personal.”  Finishing his sentence, he glanced away and smiled fondly.  ”Ever since I knew her... it was mostly me who was taking care of her...”

The young man listened keenly to the merchant, and seemed to be deeply thinking about something.  After a good while, however, said young man straightened himself out and stared in to the old merchant’s eyes.  The next words that left his mouth made the latter open his mouth with surprise.  He kind of assumed this would happen, considering his sudden interest in you, but he really didn’t think it would happen this soon.  But then again, the young man in front of him was never one to be tactful.

And he stared back at him, almost haughtily, daring the merchant with his gaze to deny what he just asked for.  It was supposed to make the merchant feel a bit a menaced, but he couldn’t help but chuckle back at him, which took the youngster by surprise.  But this quickly transformed back in to the satisfied seriousness when he saw the old man nod at him.

And without further ado, he gave him the crate he had been holding this whole time.

\---

Sousuke was his name, as you later learned from the old merchant.  After the talk with said mysterious man, he immediately scurried back inside the shop, where he found you polishing some iridescent glasswork.  Not really knowing how to tell you the big news, he nervously wrung his wrinkled hands, before he addressed you.

”(Name), my dear girl...,” You immediately stopped with your work, and looked up at him, urging him to continue with a kind smile and raised eyebrows.  He warmly smiled back at you and started out talking about some customers, leaving Sousuke to the end.  You nodded absentmindedly as he suddenly started praising said young man, thinking that he was just really fond of him.

  ...But when the conversation suddenly took a turn, and the old merchant briefly mentioned his marital status... That was when an uncomfortable, worry inducing feeling started to appear in your stomach.   Slowing down in your work, you remained quiet and continued listening to him.  And it was like this, how he told you about the conversation between him and the young man, which happened just after you left the requested crate in his hands.  The old merchants smile, however, visibly faltered when he saw your smile falter with every passing minute he told you about Sousuke.

”He wants me to do what...?” you whispered, disbelief heavily coating your voice.   The sudden news would have been enough to make you drop the glass vase that you were cradling delicately.

”It would be just a little outing, (Name).  Please, my child.  At least consider it,” he told you with a weak, supporting smile, trying to coax you in to meeting this man, you hardly knew.  ”He is a good man,” he continued.  ”He may not seem like it, but he would never harm you. I know him enough, and I trust he will treat you well.”

By now you stopped polishing, solemnly staring at the vase in your hands, weakly listening to the old merchant.  Seeing how you verbally didn’t oppose the idea, he hesitantly continued.

”You know...  Sousuke would be a suitable husband for you, my dear.  He is intelligent and level – headed, hard – working and brave.  His swordmanship is nothing to look down on, either. Let’s not forget that he is also a merchant of wealthy descent.  ...And he isn’t that bad looking, if I do say so myself...,” All the while you slowly stood up and with a quiet ’tink’ positioned the glass vase back on a shelf.  Being done with that, you continued standing there and absentmindedly watched the different cups and vases reflect the light that managed to filter inside the shop.

 A pregnant pause followed with you observing the marvellous glassworks and the merchant nervously awaiting your answer.  If it weren’t for the outside noise of people walking and talking, the silence in the shop would have been a ringing one.

After a while, though, you sighed.   ”No ...I’m sorry, but ...I don’t wish to meet him,” you quietly uttered, still not turning around.  The old man gazed at your back, sadly and hopelessly.  He sighed.

”(Name), please.  ...At least give him a chance.  He would protect you and provide you with anything you needed. Anything you wanted.”

You turned around.   ”My answer is no! I am not interested in meeting a man I hardly know,” you retorted, a bit more harshly then you intended to.  The wrinkles on the merchant’s face seemed to deepen at your answer and it actually managed to make you feel a bit guilty.

”My child. ...I just want the best for you. Think about how this would improve your life! You wouldn’t have to live in that hut anymore. You wouldn’t have to risk your safety and health anymore for water.  That donkey of yours isn’t young, as well.  How long do you think will he be able to help you out? He isn’t even in the condition to carry you around!”

You promptly shook your head at this, preventing him to say anything more.  ”No, and no.  I can’t... I just can’t”

Words dying down, you remained silent, not giving a proper explanation to your refusal.   You just couldn’t.   You practically felt the marks on your neck and chest burn.  The marks that were already fading away.  The marks _he_ left there.  

It has been almost a month, since you found him passed out in the desert and yet it felt like a dream that repeated itself every night.  A month since that very man pleasured you, showing his gratitude in a heated, passionate way that made your head spin wildly.   It was so wonderful; Nobody has ever cherished you like this before.   You still remember the morning he woke you up with his lips trailing your naked and exposed shoulder and whispering you a promise of return.

That one day he will come back and take you away with him, somewhere far away...

  ...And you had so keenly believed him.

Who wouldn’t have, though, when he promised you all this with arms still securely holding you, his teeth and tongue teasing the dimples on your neck...  Maybe the whole thing was a hallucination.

A Fata Morgana.

It would make perfect sense, since a trip to the desert can do that to people.  Nobody could really escape the fury of the desert.

But the marks on your body served as a reminder that it was anything but a trick of the mind.  It really did happen.  And you were still waiting for his return; to be held, to be kissed by him once again, just like on that night.  Though after days and weeks passing by, doubt was something that plagued you more often then not.

Was he really coming back?  Did he just give you an empty promise, with the hope that you’d eventually forget about him?

    ...Did he, perhaps, use you?

He was out there all alone, for God knows how long.  Human contact must have been something he desired just as much as water or food, even if unconsciously.  Did he only use you that night, to quench his physical needs, his primal instincts?

This thought crossed your mind more than once, and each time it made you feel as if someone made you swallow a whole rock.   He was so careful and intimate with you.   It was hard to believe that he only made good use of the whole situation.  If he really only had his way with you, then why did he took care of you after what happened?  Why did he bother to lay down with you and sleep in your bed, holding you like some precious cargo?

He couldn’t have used you.  He just couldn’t... You refused to believe so.

Blinking back tears, you looked back at the merchant and excused yourself to the back of the shop, to tend to something that wasn’t even that important.  But even work couldn’t help you take your mind off of the dark – haired man.   You swore you could still hear his appreciative sighs in your ear.

\---

After that talk in the shop, things got complicated.  

Days passed with you declining your new customer’s invitation to an outing, that were almost always delivered to you verbally via old merchant.  You yourself saw him only once, and you were already starting to get annoyed with him.   The man was very persistent!   He just couldn’t take a no.

Not that the old merchant himself wasn’t getting suspicious to you.   If Sousuke wanted to invite you so badly to a ’little walk’ as the merchant put it – then why didn’t he show up personally and ask you out?  Not that you wanted to go with him, anyway...

  ...But as luck would have it, Sousuke did show up one faithful afternoon.

And when he walked up in front of the counter, looking stoic and distant as ever, you didn’t really had any option to decline.   He had some cold and serious air about him that made it hard for you to do anything but accept his invitation.

’No wonder why he’s such a good businessman', shot this through your mind.   ’Nobody takes him lightly with the impression he gives off.’

So with a bowed head and with one glance back to the old merchant, you exited the shop, following the man that just asked you out.   And it was like this, how you ended up here in the streets with him, aimlessly walking around, trying to find out what he possibly saw in you that made him so persistent in inviting you out.   Lost in your thoughts, you occasionally peeked up at him, unconsciously deciding to take a closer look at his face.

His dark, black hair only reminded you of a certain someone, but his most enchanting features were definitely his eyes, which you already had the opportunity to gawk at.   His pale skin was a telltale sign of his origin, and while you couldn’t precisely conclude this with the loose clothing he was wearing, you pretty much guessed that he had great stamina. If anything, his broad shouldered form seemed to point at that...

And if his overall demeanor didn’t convince someone not to take him lightly, his (2)Shamshir neatly secured at his waist surely did.   But you didn’t deny it; he was quite easy on the eyes.  ...Which only added to your confusion why he asked you out.  Wouldn’t have it made more sense if he asked the daughter of the rich laborer?  Or the daughter of the farmer, who lived just across the street from the merchant’s shop?  Why you of all people...?

Being so busy with this thought, you didn’t react fast enough, as he suddenly shifted his eyes back to you.

With cheeks going red, you weakly looked away.

”Are you hungry?”

Looking up, you saw Sousuke looking expectantly down at you, one of his eyebrows raised a bit higher.  A brief thought went across your mind, how pleasantly deep his voice was, before you registered what he just asked from you, and glanced behind him, only to see multiple vendors selling cooked vegetables and wine soaked bread, among other things.  As everything clicked together, you meekly nodded back, and watched as he wordlessly spun around, already on his way to buy something to chew on.  His form growing more and more distant, you decided to look around the street you two were currently in.  For some reason the villagers seemed more happier and up – beat then usual.

This was something you noticed even before you were asked out today.  You watched as children ran on and about, giving out gleeful squee’s while playing with each other.  A lot of families were out as well, dressed just a bit more formally then usual, and vendors selling jewellery with the most radiant and iridescent colors.

Not far away from you, a group of boys and girls were practicing some kind of dance, and an older man just behind you was polishing his daggers, whether for selling them or for a performance, you didn’t know.   ...But you did notice, that the village suddenly seemed to come to life.

You hummed your confusion.   You let your eyes further wander, in hopes that you would see some kind of sign for today’s celebratory mood, when Sousuke arrived with the food he bought.

Thanking him, you accepted the wine soaked bread, before deciding to ask him.   ”Why is everyone so full of life today?”

He looked at you a bit perplexed, and you looked back at him, slightly surprised to see him wearing anything other than pure apathy on his face.

 ”Didn’t you hear?  The neighbouring kingdom’s prince is going to pay our Sultan a visit, and he’ll apparently pass through here with his royal escort,” he told you, before looking ahead and letting out a tiny smirk.   ”Kind of exciting, isn’t it? This village is the most mundane and boring one I ever had the pleasure to know about.   Seeing the prince will surely shake up life around here - for a week or even two.”

He then deftly bit into his bread, while you thoughtfully gazed at your own, mentally ruminating about what you just heard.   ”A prince, you say...? But why is he visiting our kingdom?”

Sousuke swallowed, then shrugged.   ”Nobody really knows.  Maybe it’s just a simple diplomatic visit to keep the alliance between the two kingdoms fresh and strong.  Though, if that’s really the case, then I wonder why the _prince_ of all people is coming and not their ambassador...”   He grew quiet, gradually getting lost in his own thoughts.   You did the same, while still keeping your eyes on the people around you.

It was strange to see this little village so carefree, not that it wasn’t a nice change.  But a sudden thought crossed your mind, that made you frown in worry.

”Do you think there’s going to be some kind of war...?” you asked him a bit quieter, and at this he looked back at you with lips slightly parted.  ...Before he smiled, and you blinked back at him, completely confused as to why he smiled at a question like this.   He then suddenly raised his hand and lightly brushed it against your cheek.  ”You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” he murmured quite amused, while he held your gaze with his.

His actions rendered you speechless, and you felt a slight blush appear on your face. You were quite surprised how expressive this man just really was; acting almost the complete opposite of how he acted back in the shop.  Though it wasn’t long before he went back to his more serious self.   ”But to answer your question, no.  I don’t think there is going to be any kind of war,” he told you reassuringly.

You inwardly let out a sigh of relief.   A vicious war would be the last thing you’d need right now.

Seeing you relax, Sousuke slightly smiled, before he continued.   ”I had the opportunity to travel across their kingdom in the last few weeks, and from what I saw, it does not look like they have it good ...to say the least,” he quickly added, more quietly.   You cocked your eyebrow at this.

”Why not?  Isn’t their kingdom supposed to be one of the most wealthiest one?”

Sousuke nodded.   ”Yes, but it just so happened that this year’s aridity hit them extraordinarily harsher then all of us.”

At this, you narrowed your eyes.  ”...What do you mean?”

”To put it shortly: they are short on water.”

Your breath hitched.   A flashback of a certain dark – haired male suddenly shot through your mind, as he sat on your bed, completely exhausted and begging for –

”...Water?” you quietly echoed, not wanting to believe what you just heard.

Sousuke blinked at you confused, before he nodded.   ”Yes.  Water.  What’s wrong?  You suddenly look so pale...,”

You did feel more faint.  The sudden realization that just occured to you, made your knees weak and the world spin with you for a minute.   Was this just some strange coincidence?  You hoped it was. He couldn’t have been from that same kingdom ...or?   But why else would he have been searching for water?   Exhaling from sudden dizziness, you raised a hand to your head, the movement not calming down your escort in the least.

”Hey...!” Sosuke said as he hurriedly put his food down on a nearby table and grabbed you at your shoulders.   ”Are you alright?  What’s wrong all of a sudden, are you sick?”

A light layer of perspiration broke out on your skin as you tried to steady yourself.   ”No, I’m fine...,” you replied weakly.  ”I guess the heat just got to me a little...”

Sousuke only stared at you in worry.   He didn’t seem to catch up on your lie.

”Let’s go find a shaded place, alright?  There are plenty around here...”

You nodded and let him grab your hand, as he searched for a place to rest.   And while the two of you walked along the busy street, your mind was reeling with thoughts about deep blue eyes and lips that made you wither with pleasure.   About glistening pale skin and dexterous fingers, that despite their coldness managed to make you feel hotter than the sun out in the desert.

About bathtubs and soap, and shiver induced whispers.  About how all of this is just a coincidence, how anyone could have lost their way out in the vast desert, how it’s possible to survive out there and how likely it is that your secret visitor is still alive.   Anxiety was quick to eat its way in to your core, and you didn’t even notice your steps getting slower and slower, until you snapped out of it and quickened your pace.  

Just in that moment, someone, somewhere far behind the two of you, started to play a merry song on something that sounded akin to the (3)komuz.

Cheers and shouts of joy from the people around you was the immediate reaction to it, as you saw them stand up in a heartbeat and start dancing to their hearts content, as if all their worries have been suddenly erased by the fretless string instrument.   Sousuke tried to manouver the both of you out of the thick horde of dancing people, but he often failed to do so, as men and women, young and old, twirled their way in front of him.

The whole village sprang to life, and by now you were sure that even the Sultan himself could hear the festivities.   Trying not to bump in to the villagers, you drew closer to Sousuke.

It didn’t take long for other people to join the lone komuz player, with flute and drum like instruments, that made the song sound richer and the villagers even more happier.  People started clapping as they danced, even shouting as they jumped gracefully from one foot to another and twirled, displaying the beauty of their folk dance.  Gritting his teeth in mild annoyance, Sosuke realized that escaping the crowd while walking won’t work.

   ...And it was just after this thought that a brilliant idea flashed in his mind.   With a wolfish grin, he pulled your form to his with a sudden jerk of his arm, and just in time too, before a particularly young man not even far away from you could do the same.

”Oomph...!” you groaned in to his chest, which made him softly chuckle.

”I am sorry, but it looks like we’ll have to dance ourselves out of this.  What do you think, can you keep up with the rhythm?  Don’t worry, it won’t last long, and if you feel dizzy again, just tell me,” he murmured close to the shell of your ear, to which your cheeks reacted by coloring themselves in a nice shade of red.   You nodded, a bit warily though, and straightened your posture, eventually facing him.

He in return gave you one reassuring smile, before grabbing you surprisingly gently by your hands.   It all started out slow.   With decisive movements, he took a step back and relocated his hands to your waist.   His hold on you wasn’t tight, but firm enough, and you smiled nervously, absolutely not used to being touched like this.   Heart pounding in your chest, you shakily raised your own pair of arms and rested them on top of his.   He sent you one last smile, and before you knew it...

You two were dancing.

Unsure as you were, you still tried to keep up with Sousuke’s and everyone else’s pace, while also being careful not to bump in to anyone.  After all, you were but a little girl since you last danced like this.  But to your reassuring surprise, it didn’t take you long to remember the steps and movements from the past.  A happy little laugh escaped you, the first one since weeks, and Sousuke fastened the rhythm a bit more after he saw you getting more and more confident.

By now you were both in sync with everyone around you.   Something exhilarating and near unfamiliar bubbled up in your chest and not knowing how to keep it in, you started quietly giggling.   Seeing the whole village dance and celebrate boosted everyone’s good mood, and you were no exception.   With every twirl, every jump and every step you felt your body getting lighter and lighter, as if dancing lifted every burden off of you.   Even if just for a few minutes, anxiety completely left you.

  _...No more worrying about Asim and the desert_

Swift and agile, your body twirled in Sosuke’s arms.

  _...No more worrying about rations_

 All of a sudden, he slowed you down gently, drawing your form nearer to his.

  _...No more worrying about marriage_

 In trance, you looked up at him with flushed cheeks and glistening eyes. The village carried on without the two of you.

  _...No more worrying about mysterious strangers_

 He slowly leaned down and your breath got stuck in your throat.

  _...No more_

Surprisingly soft lips brushed against yours cunningly, shocking you into temporary paralysation.

  _...No more_

 It happened so fast, yet everything froze around you.   Heart pounding in your ears, you stayed still and stopped breathing as he tasted the sensitive skin on your mouth.  They were so cold, and you briefly wondered why, when it was so hot outside.   Though the sudden peck lasted only so long, as after some short time he gently removed them from yours.   In reaction, a surprised puff of air escaped your mouth, hitting his as you could only stare at him with wide eyes, while he stared back at you with utmost calmness.

”W – what...,” you quietly stuttered, while slowly raising your hand to your lips.   It was shaking and Sousuke saw that, making him glance back at you confused.   ”(Name)...?” He whispered.

Oh no.  This particular distraction was the main reason, why you realized just a tad bit later how much quieter everything became around you.  Confused, you let your eyes roam your surroundings to see what was off.

  ...And then you finally realized.  There was no music anymore; forcing everyone around you to stop dancing.

You saw several heads glancing back in to the direction of the newly formed band, a tad bit puzzled as to why they suddenly stopped playing.  The only ones not bothered by this were the children, who continued dancing and jumping while joyously laughing.   Sousuke and you also glanced around, not knowing what just happened.   Some people around you even got irritated.

” ** _OI!_**   What’s the big idea?”

”Yeah! Why’d you stop playing?!”

Their answer came fast, as fairly young man dressed in sand colored robes, came hurriedly and jumped up on a big pile of crates in order to face the whole village.

**_”EVERYONE!  THE PRINCE IS HERE!  PLEASE, MAKE WAY FOR THE PRINCE!”_**    He shouted loud enough for everyone to hear and the people upon hearing this didn’t hesitate for long.

With hurried steps, they parted like see for Moses, and hurried to the sides of the street, pressing themselves as tightly as they could against the various lined up buildings.   Sosuke did the same, grabbing you by the arm and leading you to safety, while you were still trying to get over your slight daze.   He found an empty spot between two elderly men and a little family, that were standing patiently before a rather shabby jewellery shop.

For the next following minutes, absolute silence reigned the whole place, and it was rather surreal to see the village this quiet, when everyone was outside.  The only thing you yourself heard was the even breathing of Sousuke behind you.

   ...But it didn’t take long, before the distinctive sound of drums could be heard from somewhere far away, signaling the approach of the prince along with his escort.  Almost instantly, the villagers erupted in to hushed whispers, not being able to cover up the excitement that coursed trough them.  Nervous anticipation filled the air.  Minutes passed in a blink and the towering forms of elephants slowly appeared on the horizon.

 The children immediately got exited and started standing on their tip – toes or leaning forward, determined to see the giant mammals better.   But it’s not like the grown ups and elderly weren’t interested in them, too.   With mesmerized eyes, they watched the approaching escort.   Even you couldn’t take your eyes off of them, and you sensed Sousuke behind you lean just a fraction forward, making you guess that he too was far from indifferent towards the new sight.

The sounds of drums got louder and louder and the silhouettes clearer and clearer with each passing minute.   By now, people were craning their neck up and out, desperately trying to get the first glimpse of the prince, who was most probably sitting in the extravagantly decorated (4)Howdah.   The nearer the prince came, the more exited the folk.

Cheers bubbled up slowly and uncertainly from somewhere behind, before everyone started cheering and laughing, even raising their hands to greet the royal newcomer.

All the while, you and Sousuke watched in awe and curiosity, as the approaching Howdah gently swayed from left to right according to the elephants step.  By now it was close enough to see the distinctive figure of the prince.

You narrowed your eyes, while everyone else widened them.

The prince had his eyes closed, and under them rested dark circles, but even so it was evident that he was young.   Golden and dark blue decorated his attire, along with his drapery and pillows that surrounded him...

Your heart stopped for a minute.   Why was he so... _familiar?_

With lips parted and eyebrows furrowed, you observed him further; your heart beating faster with each second he got closer.   Dark bangs framed his face, that seemed to be made out of porcelain. As the cheering, getting louder and louder finally reached his ears, he tiredly opened his eyes, revealing his dark blue orbs...

   ...And the horrible realization hit you hard.

Eyes wide, you could only stare, absolutely horrified.   It was him.   This was the man you saved from the beckoning desert, the one you brought home to care for, the one that swept you off in to a world of pure desire and affection – Oh no.

The prince.   _It was the prince all along..._!

Mind going blank, you felt fear repressing your lungs, making it impossible for you to breath.   Immediately, you started shaking, panic slowly but surely overtaking.   Sousuke seemed to notice your uneasiness and leaned down worriedly.

”(Name)...? What’s wrong? Do you feel unwell again?”

You promptly turned around, partly to hide your face from the oncoming escort.   You fearfully grabbed on to the robes of Sousuke and hurriedly whispered.

”I uh, I just don’t feel well.  Please, let us leave.  I really don’t feel well...”

A bit bewildered, the man gave you a worried and perplexed expression.   He noted the fear in your voice.   Why were you so nervous all of a sudden?  Trying to console you, he rested a hand on your back.   ”All right.   Just let us wait ’til the escort passes - ”

”No! Please, just let us leave! Please...!”

You were desperate and terrified.   Sousuke worriedly raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to you, in hopes that his closure might calm you down.  ”What’s wrong? Is someone here bothering you?” He asked in a whisper, leaning down.   You shook your head, while your grip on him tightened.   ”No, no - - I just.  I’ll explain everything later, just please let us leave before - -”

Either out of pure coincidence or destiny, but for a short, miniscule moment you turned your head in the prince’s direction as you uttered your last plea...- -

   ... just to make direct eye contact with the prince himself.

Dark blue eyes instantly widened in recognition.   _Oh no_.

”(Name)? _(Name)?!_ ” Sosuke called out to you, utterly confused as to why you suddenly stopped.   He followed your gaze with his eyes, but got only more confused when he saw it directed to the prince.

  ...But when he saw _the prince_ reacting the same way to the sight of _you_ – it was then, when nothing made any sense for him.   And he seemingly wasn’t the only one.   The villagers too noticed the sudden attention you got from the currently most popular individual.   They held back with the cheering and started cluelessly shift their eyes between the two of you.   Meanwhile, you stood there frozen before Sousuke, like a deer caught in the headlights. 

The prince was staring back at you, just as surprised, and your lips went dry when you saw him suddenly raise his hand in a halting motion. 

To your horror, his escort immediately obeyed, and the elephants stopped.   Wasting no time, the prince instantly stood up and climbed down from his Howdah, which made you squeeze yourself helplessly against Sousuke, who was still bewildered from what was currently enfolding in front of him.   The villagers too held their breath, and watched ever so curiously as he made his way to you, with determined steps. 

”(Name)...,” you heard him breathe out quietly, as he approached.  He was just a few steps away from you, when Sousuke suddenly stepped defensively in front of you, while drawing out his sword from its sheath. 

”With all due respect, Your Majesty, I think you ought to explain your sudden halt.”

The prince immediately stopped and looked at him with a not so evident grimace, and thus it didn’t take long before his own hand slithered to the weapon resting on his hip.  Fixing Sousuke with a hard glare, he pulled out his familiar scimitar, and all around you everyone gasped, some with fear some with excitement.

”I don’t need to explain anything to you,” he told him coldly, ready to charge.   Seeing this, Sousuke gritted his teeth and raised his arm protectively in front of you.  ”(Name), get behind me.” 

Heart shaking in fear, you grabbed on to his arm pleadingly.   ”Sosuke, please stop! He’s the prince from a neighbouring country! If you get in a fight with him, you’ll be arrested for treason, and then sentenced to death! Please, don’t do it...!”

”I don’t care...” 

At this, your grip on his arm faltered.   Lips parting, and with eyes wide, you stared at him.  ”W – what...?”

He slightly turned his head back to you, sporting a serene smile on his face.  ”(Name)... I am the son of a rich merchant.  I myself am a merchant, too.   Delivering precious cargo from everywhere to everywhere.  Do you really think someone like me would get sentenced to death?” 

Little did this help to calm you down, but you did realize that he had a point.  People who had money rarely got in trouble.   As corrupt as it was, you found yourself quietly letting out a breath you had been holding in for a while now.

   ...And yet. 

 ”I still think you should just let it go.  Let me talk to him, he means no harm --”

”How do you know that? You don’t know these spoiled royal people, (Name).  Trust me; I’ve seen them, I know their kind.  Rotten to the core, thinking they are godsent.  Boredom making them do whatever they desire, and if anybody should interfere, they wouldn’t be hesitant to execute them!  How do you know what he’s planning to do to you, (Name)?” 

You blanched at his words, and the crowd around you still watched, curiously glancing to the prince, wanting to see his reaction.  He, however, remained as calm as before, but even the blind could feel the emanating furry and irritation underneath his cool, that only seemed to grow with each passing minute.  

”You want to talk...  You long travelling merchants aren't any better.” Said the prince, while hardening his stare.  ”Just now you mentioned that your wealth brings you a high level of prestige, even permitting you to evade the law.  So what makes you think you’re any better than those ’spoiled and rotten’ royals you speak of?”

A dangerous glint awoke in Sousuke’s eyes, as he stepped away from you.  Fixing his grave expression back to the prince, he promptly answered: ”I’ll show you what,” before taking a step forward and sending a swing at the prince with his Shimshar. 

The crowd gasped and stepped back, as the prince swiftly blocked his opponent’s attack, the contact between the two curved swords giving out a sharp _’klink’_ sound.  You stood frozen to the spot.  It happened so fast.   The tension between the two men was only amplifying.   The prince was holding Sousuke’s sword well enough, but after a while his arm gave out, making him having no choice but to jump back, immediately building up his defense. 

Sosuke though, not wasting any time, swang another attack, and another, trying to hit him at a critical point, wanting to take him at a surprise.   But the prince was fast and agile, managing to evade and block every one of his attempts at wounding him.  Everyone watched amazed as the pair dueled, their blades flashing and ringing, while you watched with anguish.  It was like this, how seconds passed, before the prince got bored of evading and decided to counterattack, taking Sousuke at surprise.  Deep blue eyes flashed with rage as they focused. 

Lips parting in surprise, Sousuke stepped back, after each blow the prince sent him.  The tides have turned.

He cornered him with every new blow he sent him, and the people around you took a step back as well, being so immersed in the fight.  Gritting his teeth, Sousuke tried to return to the charge, but in vain, as he found himself getting cornered.  The prince seemed to have already planned this, you realized.  Showing weakness, than taking the opponent at a surprise. 

His hand flew out faster and faster, skillfully whirling his sword at Sousuke.  He was only a breath away from actually hitting a defenseless area of him, when a shrill voice of a man interrupted everything. 

**_”_ STOP! _STOOOP! STOP THIS INSTANT!”_**

As ordered, the two men immediately stopped, as everyone’s head turned to the direction of the elephants.  There, just beside the prince’s Howdah stood a middle aged man, with a balding hair and with the strictest expression you’ve ever seen.  His cheeks were red, and you weren’t sure if the heat or his anger was the cause of it.   It was his advisor, you later realized. 

The prince leisurely straightened himself out, the moment he spotted the short man, who was now plodding his way to him.  ”Your Highness, what is the meaning of this? You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Stopping the escort just to play sword fights?! We don’t have time to dwadle around, the Sultan already awaits!” 

Said Highness answered, getting to the point rather quickly.  Looking up, he turned his head in your direction, making eye contact.  You flushed under his gaze.  It reminded you of that faithful night. 

”That woman there,” he started ever so calmly, while still not taking his eyes off of you, ”I want her to come with me.”

A hush fell over the villagers as they looked on surprised, along with his advisor, who looked anything but thrilled upon hearing this.  Sousuke only made sure to block his way to you. 

”Over my dead body,” he muttered quietly to himself, but nobody except you seemed to hear this.  An exaggerated sigh escaped the advisor, and the simple movement seemed to make him even smaller.   Raising two fingers to either side of his temple, he closed his eyes in mild irritation, and asked. 

”And why – may I ask - do you wish this woman to accompany you?” 

The prince didn’t lost his cool, even now, and still remained persistent.  ”She once saved my life, when I was on my search.  I made a promise to her and I owe my life to her,” he said, and ignored the confused expressions that followed promptly after his sentence.  His advisor looked just as surprised, while Sousuke gave you a questioning look.

”Is this true, (Name)?” He whispered to you, to which you only cast your eyes down.   You were slowly starting to feel humiliated.  Now everyone knew... 

The advisor looked between the prince and you, discreetly analyzing your form from head to toe, taking in your worn out robes.  He hummed in consideration, before turning back to the prince. 

”So what do you plan to do to her, Your Highness, once you take her with yourself?”

The prince sent his advisor a sharp glare as an answer, not really liking the insinuation that question carried.   Sousuke too seemed unnerved at it.  The former, however, quickly collected himself.

”I will take her with me to the palace and take care of her.”

”With all due respect, Your Highness, but wouldn’t giving her a sack of gold or two camels be enough to show your gratitude towards her?” The advisor asked sceptically. ”I am sure you’re well aware, that we can’t just bring anyone to the palace...”  He didn’t understand why the prince was so persistent about taking you with him.  Unless he was...

”I think I know very well what I’m doing,” countered the prince firmly.  The shorter man fell back silent for a few minutes.  It was obvious that he wanted to press the matter further, but was hesitant to do so.  He observed the prince and the way he looked at you.  The hunch, about this whole fiasco being more than just grateful payback was growing ever stronger in him. 

Still, after carefully considering it, he dared to open his mouth one more time.  ”Fine by me, Your Highness...  But what may your father and our kingdom say when they’ll learn that you have brought back a strange woman from the neighbouring kingdom?”

”We are lacking in gardeners, aren’t we? She may very well take that position, and take after our royal garden.”  The prince replied without hesitation, making the frown of his advisor deepen. 

”And what about this land’s Sultan...?” 

”I am fairly close to him, which is why I’m here in the first place.  I’m sure His Majesty will understand,” he replied, looking at his advisor from the corner of his eyes with a challenging glint, before he continued.   ”Are there anymore hesitations from you part or will you finally accept my order? I am the prince, after all.  And what I want, I will have,” he said ever so calmly, making sure to glance back at you at the last sentence.

The advisor still looked on uncertainly, not sure about what to make out of his sudden decision.  One thing was sure: he wasn’t in the least bit pleased with it.  It was unheard of.  Bringing back a peasant woman to the palace.  What would his Sultan say?  He wasn’t stupid.  He saw the way the prince’s eyes glistened when he looked at you.  If he wanted to have a mistress, he could have anyone... 

So why in the world was he so persistent about you..? 

Just what in the world happened between the prince and you, and what did he mean by you’saving him’...?  Shocking images and scenarios flashed in his mind, and even worse and more potentially terrifying outcomes followed.  The worst of them all having the prince slowly, deeply getting attached to you... If it came to that, Heaven forbid... The royal family would become the laughing stock of the kingdom, maybe even in the whole world!

No... It musn’t come to that.  He wouldn’t allow it.  He would make sure – No! It was _his job_ as the royal advisor to make sure that it wouldn’t come to incidents like that.  He would keep his eyes on you and the prince... Until then, he’d stay in the back, watching and observing.  As such, he nodded nettled, and stepped back. 

”As you wish, ...Your Highness.”

At this, the prince immediately resumed his way to you, but Sousuke still stood protectively before you.

”Wait a minute,” he started with a growl, ”how do you know if she wants to come with you in the first place? Have you even asked her...?!” 

Gentle hands grabbed on to his arms yet again, forcing him to look back to you.  ”Sousuke, it’s okay.  I’m...,” you started, but then stopped, feeling your face getting hot. ”...I’m willing to go with him...” 

Eyes wide at your confession, he immediately turned around and grabbed you at your shoulders.  ”(Name)! You don’t have to go! No one is forcing you! If you’re under pressure, don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you from him and the likes of him and from everyone who will ever want to harm you...! Please, (Name)...! I promise! Just don’t go...!” 

He pleaded, and you felt your heart getting heavier.  He looked so crestfallen... He thought so highly of you... Gingerly raising your hand to his cheek, you whispered to him quietly.

”Don’t worry... no one is forcing me to do this... He is just,” you started, but the sentence died on your mouth as you glanced back to the prince waiting patiently behind Sousuke.  The latter saw your eyes lingering away from him, and closed his eyes in aquiescence.  After a while, you felt his hands loosening on your shoulders, making you glance back at him. 

”...Sousuke?”  He stayed silent for a minute, before his stare faltered.   ”All right then, (Name)... If this is really what you want, then... I won’t stand in your way. I wish you luck in life.”

You blinked at him, before sending him a smile, and nodding.   ”Thank you, Sousuke.  I wish you the same.  And thank you for everything...,” you told him quietly, with the most sincere expression you could muster.  He nodded back, smiling forlornly, before he reluctantly stepped aside. 

You thanked him one more time, before saying goodbye and walking up to the prince.  You saw the latter sigh in contentment as you approached, even holding out his hand to you.  You accepted it, and laid your hand in his, feeling his skin for the first time since forever.  He drew you a tad bit closer to him, and gave you a soft, inviting look.

You smiled back at him, feeling your cheeks get rosy. 

 He came back.  He fulfilled his promise.

The realization made your heart jump in happiness.   _He came back_. 

 Still holding your hand, he slowly made his way back to the elephants.  With the help of his servants, he mounted the one that held his Howdah, then turned back and reached for you.  You grabbed on to his strong arm, and let him pull you up.  The villagers were still staring in awe, barely comprehending what just happened.  You almost forgot about them, only realizing that they were still there when you were mounted up on the Howdah, which gave you the perfect perspective of seeing them. 

The advisor followed suit, mounting the elephant just a little behind you, and you missed the sharp look he gave the two of you as he did so.  You were too preoccupied, as Haru nodded to his servants, giving them the signal to continue.   You cast one more glance down, and sent Sousuke a warm and grateful smile while waving.  

He did the same, watching with a tint of something sad as you were carried away.  The villagers resumed their cheering, as soon as the escort continued on its way, and your heart did the exact same thing, when you felt Haru slowly intertwine his fingers with yours. 

A dew soaked rose, found in the middle of dry nowhere.  That’s what you were to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) coffee   
> (2) Punjab is a region in northwestern India; Punjabi Kameez is their traditional clothing.   
> (3) Seven sacred rivers in Indian mythology. They are said to be located somewhere around Punjab and/or today's northern Pakistan.

Even from afar, the sight of the palaces’ golden dome managed to take your breath away. You were born in this province, yet you never had the opportunity to marvel at the architectural beauty of your Sultan’s palace.

Seated in the Howdah, you could hardly take your eyes away from the sparkling yellow roof, only marginally aware of your surroundings.

This is how you missed the curious glance from beside you, as deep blue eyes took their opportunity to rest on your form, especially on your lips that were slightly parted in astonishment. Those eyes owned a glint akin to possessiveness, yet remained calm at the same time; the knowledge of once claiming your mouth holding their owner back. 

Some time spent in admiring silence, and the royal escort finally reached the palace. It was even more beautiful from up close!

Only now did you notice the intricate decoration it had, as you climbed down from the Howdah with the help of the prince, who - with a sharp and meaningful look – made it clear to his servants that it was his role to help you down. 

The moment your slippers met the sandy ground underneath you, servants from behind the palace rushed over to the royal escort to take care of the elephants. One of them stood still before the prince. 

”Your Highness,” he addressed him, giving a slight bow. ”The Sultan already awaits your presence.”

Said Highness nodded, before turning to you. ”Follow me.”

You slightly flinched in surprise, not quite understanding his order. ”Y – your Highness, I don’t think that I shou - ”

”Just come,” he said, already going ahead. At this, you remained rooted to your spot with apprehension, before following him. The quick and short steps of his advisor was shortly heard behind you. Out of curiosity, you cast a quick glance behind your shoulder, just to meet the elderly man’s eyes. 

”Eyes afore, girl, and _behave_. You’re in a palace now.”

You did as you were told, already feeling humiliated. Your brownish robes and un – ettiquetted way of walking didn’t help, either. It was obvious that you were an outsider, a peasant, and the uninvited gazes this visible fact attracted to your form almost made you turn around and leave.

Alas, this didn’t happen as you three, followed by two servants, suddenly entered an even more luxurious place, decorated with the finest furniture you have ever laid eyes on. This again made you slow down, as you stared up ahead with an open mouth, awe – struck at the sight of the huge place. 

The prince in front of you stopped and only now did you see the lascivious throne before him. On it sat a redhead who’s lazy grin only widened at the sight of his new guests. By his headwear, you guessed him to be the Sultan.

”And here I thought the desert has swallowed you,” he greeted everyone merrily, whilst standing up from his throne and making his way to the prince. The deep brown coat hanging from his shoulders was brushing against the floor. 

”We apologize, Your Majesty,” the prince’s advisor spoke up immediately. ”Something... happened, along the way.” You could feel his small, dark eyes on you. 

The Sultan blinked in mild surprise as he reached the prince and spotted your humble form inconspicuously standing behind him. When you gazed back at him with a tint of uncertainty, the Sultan suddenly offered you a sweet smile. ”And who may you be...?” 

The prince took this as his cue to step in. ”Don’t mind her,” he replied and the way his voice carried an overprotective tinge was hard to ignore. ”She is a guest of ours. Would you mind calling your servants to give her a bath and some appropriate clothes?”

You reddened at his request and subtly glanced down. You knew he wanted you to change because you stood out way too much in an environment like this, and yet it still made you embarrassed and even somewhat angry. Was it that much of a shame to be in the presence of common people? 

The Sultan complied without a word, but the tint in his eyes gave away that he had his own suspicion about you and your status being that of a ’guest’, and not – perhaps – something so much more. Nonetheless, he raised his hands and clapped.

Immediately, four servant girls appeared from somewhere behind his throne and stood attentive. When the Sultan turned around to have a look at them, he grimaced. 

”Where has she wondered off to now...?”

He clapped again. ”Gou!”

Some seconds passed, before the fast sound of slippers hitting marble could be heard approaching.

Then, a girl with long flowing red hair appeared from behind one of the curtains that no doubt hid countless passages. Out of breath, she approached the Sultan. 

”Brother, you called for me?”

Just as she uttered her question, her attention shifted to the prince and you, having noticed that her brother wasn’t alone. The Sultan nodded and raised his hand, pointing to you.

”I want you to escort that woman to our bathhouse and then dress her.”

The Sultan’s sister nodded, then turned to you. When you didn’t immediately follow her, the prince turned to you as well. His gaze signaled reassurance, telling you to go ahead.

Thus you took a step forward and walked up to Gou. When you did so, the four servant girls from behind the Sultan also started following you. 

Then Gou promised to both to his brother and to the prince that she will take good care of you, before turning around. She disappeared in to the same hallway she appeared from and seeing how dark it was made you slightly falter, but feeling the presence of the four servant girls from behind urged you to pick yourself together.

When your little group vanished from behind vast curtains, the Sultan shifted his attention back to the Prince. He hardly hid the mischief in his gaze, signaling to his friend that he expected a thorough explanation as to why he was so bold enough to bring a lady of your kind in to his palace. 

But the prince ignored this. Instead he urged the non – verbal conversation to end up at a different subject. 

But his advisor had still his doubt about this whole incident. Shamefaced, he apologized for the whole incident again. To this the Sultan raised his hands in merciful understanding. 

”There’s no need to, really. Your guest is also mine. But enough about that,” he said, while turning around and walking back to his throne with the same amount of ease as before. 

”For now let us just focus on our main reason why you arrived here.”

\--- 

The road from the throne room to the bathhouse was awkward, to say the least. 

Gou was ahead, walking in silence and not turning around, not even for a second. From the way she acted before, you hoped she would be the kind, talkative type that would offer you some words of encouragement whilst enduring this humiliation.

But as she marched on in the dimly lit hallways, you were already asking yourself if she may be just as stuck up as the prince’s advisor, deeming you below her, not worthy of her attention. 

To make matters worse, you could hear the four servant girls behind you gossip from time to time. They tried to be quiet, but their effort went in vain, as you could hear every word they whispered.

”...So, where do you think she’s from? She doesn’t look like someone the prince would have as a guest.”

”I say, she doesn’t differ from those I see in the outer villages.”

”She must be from the outer villages!”

”Do you really think so?”

”Yes, Najwa is right! Who else wears clothes like hers?”

They went quiet after that and you felt your face heat up, ready to cry. You felt their curious gaze on your back and never before did you wish to vanish from the face of the Earth as hard as now. Oh, how you regretted leaving your village. 

Just as a teardrop almost escaped the corner of your eye, Gou in front of you suddenly halted and opened a large double door made from deep, brown wood.

”We’re here! Please, come in,” she said while sending you a smile. Both her smile and the quick arrival to the bathhouse took you by surprise, but you tried not to let it show by giving a silent nod and hurriedly stepping inside. 

If one ever wonders why it was called a bathhouse, one shall know if they step inside here. The whole place was huge! White, marble walls greeted you and - sure enough – in the middle of it all was a circular bath built in the floor. You immediately felt the shift in temperature as the humid air engulfed your body. 

”You should hurry and take your clothes off, it’s really hot in here,” said Gou as she arrived next to you. ”You could faint this way. There,” she pointed to a secluded corner of the room. ”You can change there, if you want to.”

You thanked her and took her up on her offer. As you moved to change, you caught some glances from them here and there, still being curious about you. You thought it wiser to just ignore the intrusive eyes, concentrating on getting undressed instead. 

Eventually, they got bored with you and their attention shifted to something else. Namely, to the Sultan.

With your bare figure, you started walking back to them and heard them talking about him.

”I honestly don’t know why he’s waiting so long,” sighed Gou, while raising her hands to her hips. She was currently standing knee – deep in the hot water, making her body get used to it’s heat. ”He’s at just the right age to do it as well.” 

The other servants girls were already naked, slowly pouring water from the nearby jugs on to themselves. ”Maybe he’s just not interested?” spoke one of them. ”He doesn’t seem like the marrying type.”

You listened with mild interest, hesitatingly standing before the pool. Looking in to it, you saw your reflection glance back at you. You casually dipped your foot in to it, making the anxious girl from the reflection vanish. 

Gou turned around at the sound with surprise. ”Oh. You’re finished.”

You couldn’t help but notice the way she quickly looked you up and down, making you slightly cover yourself with your hands. What might she think of your body, you wondered. You noticed the other girls staring at you from the corner of their eyes as well. 

Gou must have noticed your sudden drop in self – confidence and quickly apologized. ”Please don't take it the wrong way. It’s just that we never really saw someone from the village.”

You nodded, albeit not quite reassured. And while the place itself was hot enough, you were starting to somewhat get cold and the hot water was already beckoning for you. Thus you stepped inside the pool without waiting for Gou to call you. Carefully, you followed the marble steps that showed you the path in to the pool. 

The moment you were deep enough for your waist to be submerged, the servants started making their way to you. 

”You should make yourself comfortable,” said one of them, pointing to a somewhat shallow area to sit down. You did as you were told and sat down on the slippery, slope – y side. 

When the servant girls started pouring water on you from the jugs they used before, you involuntarily gave out a cry of surprise. Gou laughed a bit and moved closer. 

”Again, I apologize. But we have to get you clean.”

”Ah, no,” you stuttered back, as you felt one of the girls starting to wash your hair, ”it just surprised me.”

Gou smiled before making her way to the pool’s side, where you could see some little, mysterious bottles. Analyzing them, she grabbed one before turning back to you. 

”We’re going to rub some oil on your hair and skin, if you don’t mind. It will help keep your skin moisturized in the heat.”

You agreed, not really having any other choice. The only servant left who was not busy washing you was given the task of rubbing the oil on you. The strong smell of amber and jasmine overwhelmed your senses. 

”So, (Name), if I recall correctly...?” started Gou politely. 

”Yes,” you answered her, starting to enjoy the massage your scalp and back were given. 

”May I ask about you and the Prince?” she asked, with eyes glinting. You could sense the servants behind you being just as curious about that. 

”Uhh,” you started, ”what do you want to know?”

She blushed with glee, having been given permission to ask about personal information. ”I am really curious about how you and the Prince decided to get married.”

You suddenly blushed as well, although for a quite different reason. ”W – what are you asking? We’re not going to get married.”

The maroon haired Princess blinked confused. ”Huh? Aren’t you his beloved?”

You didn’t really know how to answer that, without revealing the little secret you and the Prince shared. You are his beloved but in a way that was quite unconventional. And so you denied it, trying to act more embarrassed and confused. ”I’m not! Where did you get the idea?”

She slightly narrowed her eyes in suspicion, humming all the while. ”I apologize. It just seemed the way he acted so protectively of you mirrored that of a husband’s possessiveness over his wife.”

”You flatter me,” you started, and it took you a lot not to stutter at her clear observance, ”but you are mistaken. I am merely someone whom he has some debt to pay off to.”

She remained a bit quiet, before answering with an ’I see’. Though, the way she smiled at you at the end of her sentence made you think that she was far from believing it.

And that was the moment when you were happy that your marks from him were already gone from your body, not having to worry about the servants or Gou to find the very proof of their suspicion. 

\---

”I heard about the situation in your land. I’m sorry you and your people have to suffer from this.”

The Sultan offered his condolences with a grim expression; all traces of playfulness gone with the change of subject. The prince nodded and thanked him, his voice conveying fatigue. His advisor was behind him, sunken in pensive silence. 

The three of them decided to talk things over in a more comfortable matter, sitting cross - legged at a round, moroccan coffee table not far from the throne room. It was clear that the Sultan had built this for his more private – like conversations. Not long after they sat down, a servant with a tray appeared and offered some kahve(1) to the Prince and his advisor, but both politely denied.

They were too anxious to enjoy the rich, dark brown beverage, thus it would have only gone to waste. 

When even the Sultan denied from a cup of it, the servant nodded and disappeared back from where he came from and the Sultan continued. ”Yet as much as I’m sorry about it, I can’t imagine how I could be of help to you.”

The prince’s face remained the same, tired blue eyes staring back at dark red ones. The advisor spoke up. 

”Actually, Your Majesty, we would have a faint idea how you could help our land.”

The Sultan acknowledged him. ”Go on.”

The advisor thanked him and continued. ”If you would allow us, we would like to enter your land now and again to have access to your prosperous river near our borders. Our people would stock up on the river’s water, just enough to be able to fulfill their basic necessities. Furthermore, we would humbly plead you to let most of our children, women, the sick and elderly to stay in your land as refugees. The drought is causing social unrest and violence over our remaining natural sources.”

The Sultan grew silent, carefully mulling things over, not bothered by the relentless, neutral stare his friend has placed on him since he arrived here. 

”I see,” he started after some time, ”but I would like to ask some questions first and I want you to tell me the absolute truth.”

The advisor glanced helplessly to the prince, who only nodded. 

”Very well,” the Sultan continued. ”Is there currently any disease sweeping through your land, other than famine and an aggressive yet understandable thirst for water?”

”No,” the prince replied without hesitation. His Majesty continued. ”And are there any severely ill views harboured by your people against my land, my people – or against me?”

”Rin!” 

The Sultan blinked in surprise as the prince suddenly called him out. He was sitting there, obviously worn out from his current situation, so him suddenly shouting was the last thing he expected from his quiet friend. But it was clear – he had made him angry with his earlier sentence, that hinted at no more then a smartly out – thought attack. 

Rin sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. ”All right, I apologize. But please understand that I have to make sure. I will allow you to have access to our river and I will accept refugees – but do keep in mind that I will also have to take care of my people first. While the situation is not as dire in my land as it is in yours, this years aridity hit us just as bad.”

Haru closed his eyes, and Rin assumed that it was his way of conveying that he understood. Or most probably, he was very tired. 

”We thank you for your help, Your Majesty,” said the advisor spoke and bowed a little. As business was taken care of, the men grew silent, thinking some things trough, making sure they didn’t forget to mention anything important pertaining to this matter.

”Daher.”

The advisor behind the Prince perked up as he heard his master call his name. ”Yes, Your Highness?”

”You can leave now,” the prince ordered, while he himself remained seated. Daher bowed, even though the prince didn’t see him and left without a word. As he exited the throne room, his face regained it’s displeased expression, which was something he needed an unimaginable amount of effort to keep it unseen. 

When the Sultan and the prince were sure that they were alone and out of earshot, the former spoke up. 

”Haru,” he started with a quieter, more somber voice. ”Tell me: what is this really about?”

Haruka glanced at him with faint surprise, not exactly sure what he meant. ”It is what it is; my land is suffering and we need help. There really was no hidden meaning behind our request for help.”

”No,” Rin continued with a quiet chuckle, ”I meant your little guest.”

Haruka didn’t answer immediately and only shifted his eyes sideways, making his friend grin a little. ”Don’t be so taciturn about her. Aren’t I allowed to know who she is? It’s not like you at all to take in strangers.”

”She isn’t a stranger. I once made a promise to her and I’m only repaying it.”

He wanted to remain absolutely neutral while talking about you, and to someone who didn’t know him, he might have gotten away with it. But Rin’s keen eyes picked up on the way his friend gradually lost his trademark composure of calmness the moment they changed the topic to you.

It was amusing to see how his friend took a sudden interest in the white Lillies painted on the coffee table in front of him. Notorious for his teasing, the Sultan just couldn’t miss such an opportunity, when it was practically handed to him on a silver plate. 

With his grin showing off his sharp teeth, he suddenly leaned back upon mountains and mountains of silk pillows behind him, the movement somewhat exposing his naked chest. 

”Say, Haru,...”

The prince listened, slowly raising his gaze to Rin. The redhead waited until his blue eyes were on him, before suddenly asking him the question that entertained his mind for a while now. 

”Have you found a wife yet?”

Haru flinched a little, the question clearly taking him off guard. Rin tried not to laugh and pretend as if he didn’t see him react, opting to continue. ”Because you see, I still haven’t found anyone suitable to be my wife. No matter how many women I met, none of them really caught my interest...”

The Sultan had to force down a laugh, when he furtively glanced back to his friend, who seemed to be really tense at this new subject. Still, he lazily raised his hand and started nonchalantly inspecting his coated nails, trying to ignore the way the prince was getting on edge.

”It’s a shame, isn’t it? After all, not everyone can marry the Sultan, but the Sultan can marry everyone. Speaking of everyone...,”

Rin let his sentence half – finished, and dramatically leaned forward, resting one of his elbows on the moroccan, unconsciously forcing his friend to snap his cool eyes to his maroon ones. And thus Rin continued. 

”...your little lady guest is the kind of woman I fancy. Do you happen to know if she’s already taken?”

Haru should’ve sensed by the humorous and joking manner his friend conversed about this topic, that he was far from serious. He should’ve known that someone of his status and serious personality wouldn’t marry just anyone he desired, much less a woman he hardly knew, with a questionable background to boot. 

He should have known that this was Rin’s way of asking if he was courting you. 

Yet the usually calm and phlegmatic male did something unusual. Months of stress, tension and worry made him snap and raise his voice a bit louder. 

”Keep your hands off of her!”

The Sultan looked on surprised, as his friend seethed these words, before throwing back his head and letting out a loud guffaw. 

”Simmer down, I was only joking!”

The prince glanced sideways, the thin line of his mouth still suggesting irritation. When the Sultan finished laughing, he wiped a tear of mirth away from his eyes and spoke to Haru again.

”So I take it that she is to be your wife? ”

Haruka sighed. ”What’s with you and this whole marriage speech? My country is in a dire need of help, I don’t have time to think about marriage.”

”Is that so...,” mused Rin with an undertone of obvious entertainment, ”but you have time to take in strange women?”

The prince sent him a look, his cheeks slightly reddening; from both irritation and embarrassment. He had half the mind to stand up and leave, when he suddenly caught your form standing shyly at the other side of the room.

In that moment, both he and Rin stopped suddenly. Gou was standing somewhat behind you, with a pleased smile on her face, seeing how your new attire managed to enchant the two men.

Because enchanted they were. Your previous brown robe was now nowhere to be seen and instead a punjabi kameez (2) adorned your humble form. You could only glance downwards as you fiddled with your loose scarf, still not used to the male attention you got. 

”So I take it you like it?” Gou asked with a cheeky smile, ”It was specially imported from Sapta Sindhu (3).”

Rin woke up from his stupor and grinned. ”Well done, sister. She looks marvellous. One would think she is of noble blood, if not for her shy demeanor.”

You dared a glance upwards, your cheeks still as red as before, and looked at the prince who was still standing and staring at you, completely transfixed. It was difficult to guess what he thought about your new look from his face alone, but the way he gulped nervously was enough indication that he liked what he saw, and very much so. 

Rin looked between him and you with yet another amused smile. ”Well then,” he started, before lazily standing up, his jewelry jingling with his movements.

”I believe we discussed everything important and your lady guest has been taken care of. My servants shall escort you out and make sure that you leave with enough rations for your journey back to your homeland.”

The Prince nodded and thanked the Sultan, before subtly indicating to you with his finger to follow him. You did so, but not before turning back and quietly thanking Gou for her help to which she only beamed at you. 

”Oh, do not thank me! I was actually enjoying helping you dress.”

Despite that, you thanked her once again before following the prince outside. 

\--- 

It was suffice to say that the sight of you all dressed up brought quite the opposite reaction from the prince’s advisor. He was patiently waiting outside, in the shade of a tree, when the prince appeared at the entrance of the palace, ready to leave and you following him.

His nostrils flared with indignation when he saw the fine, silk woven garment on your form, with your hair nicely washed and neatly braided, and even some jewelry enhancing your neck and ears. 

He was about to walk up to the prince and tell him his piece of mind, when said prince silenced him with a warning glare the moment he was close enough. 

”Daher, tell our escort that we’re finished here and wish to go back home.”

The advisor hesitated for a minute, his eyes glancing to you, before flickering back to the prince.

”We...?”

”Don’t make me repeat myself.”

A breath of silence ensued, with you just wishing that you were out of the public’s sight. Though, the advisor bowed down, realizing that he crossed a line. ”Yes, Your Highness.”

Once he was out of sight, the prince turned around, stepping closer to you. Not awaiting his sudden proximity, you flinched slightly, making him frown. 

”...Don’t worry about him,” he started quietly, knowing just well whom he was talking about. ”As long as you’re near me, no one will harm you.”

You looked in his eyes, which were smoldering behind the shade of his turban, looking at you with warmth. It calmed you down and so you allowed a smile, to which he glanced sideways. 

”It looks good on you, by the way. ...The dress.”

”Thank you,” you said and couldn’t help but blush again. You have never worn something like this before. It made you feel a bit uncomfortable, yet you couldn’t deny the feeling of thrill as well, actually liking your new outfit. 

When the escort was ready to depart, a thought crossed your mind.

”May I have a request?”

The Prince, already positioned on the Howdah, looked down at you with mild curiosity, his hand outstretched for you. Taking it, you were pulled up to him. 

”What is it?”

”I know this is silly to ask,” you started, biting your lip, ”but I have a donkey at home and we left him there unattended. Could we just stop there so I could escort him to a close friend of mine?”

By which you meant the shopkeeper. You were sure he would take care of Asim for you. Explaining how you got there with the royal escort of a neighbouring country, however, would be quite the challenge. 

Just before you could think about something, Haruka closed his eyes and nodded. 

”We could bring him with us, actually.”

You blinked at him surprised. ”W – we could?”

”I don’t see why not.”

You grew quiet for a moment, while watching the servants finish fastening packages and whatnot on the elephants. One of them shouted the signal to go and with a jolt, the escort started. 

As you felt the gentle sway of the walking elephant underneath you, you spoke up again. ”You know he would need to be taken care of. He would need water, among other few things. Are you sure I can trouble you with this?”

”I don’t care, as long as it makes you feel happy,” he answered promptly. Then he started undoing his turban and closing the curtains around the Howdah. Being finished with that, he fell back against the pillows. For a good few seconds, he just laid there with eyes closed and breathing serenely. The circles under his eyes were still quite visible. 

Suddenly, you felt quite sad for him. He must be under a lot of stress. 

He woke you up from your stupor by suddenly re - opening his eyes, setting them firmly on you. You flinched slightly, having been caught staring at him. You didn’t tear your gaze away from him, though, and he kept staring back at you just as passively, when suddenly, he raised one of his hands and lazily indicated with his forefinger for you to get closer to him.

”What is it?” you asked. 

”I want you to lay down with me.”

You did as you were told, marginally aware of the way his eyes roamed your figure. The moment you positioned yourself next to him, he shifted his weight, and before you knew it, he was on top of you. Immediately, he buried his nose in your hair, sensually striking your neck with the tip of his nose. 

“W – wait,” you breathed against his ear. “Is it all right to do this here...?”

“No one will see,” he breathed against your neck and kissed it before you could explain it to him, that you weren’t really worried about what was going to be seen, but rather what was going to be heard.

What’s more; the light swaying of the elephant underneath you made it hard to remain in one place, as your choice of traveling could be best described as quite wobbly. Haru, however, didn’t seem to care at all, as you witnessed him becoming more eager and eager. In a matter of seconds, he greedily planted his lips on your neck, teasing your sensitive skin with his teeth. You felt flattered from all the sudden attention, especially since it was so long since you two met. 

Thus you lolled your head back with a sigh, showing him unequivocal consent. 

The next few minutes went by like this, with you trying to be as quiet as possible and him just greedily devouring you. As if in trance, the scent of jasmin and amber lingering on your skin bewitched him in a way like nothing ever before. 

Biting down on your lips, while also making sure to listen to the outside world, the few appreciative whispers from him didn’t escape your attention. It did came as a surprise, however, when you suddenly felt his hands along with his lips travel southwards. 

“What are you...?”

At your shock, he glanced back to you, his deep blue eyes darkening. 

“I just... you smell so good.”

A fiery red erupted on your face, his confession rendering you speechless. By now you weren’t so much worried about what he was going to do, but how he was going to do it. The huge mammal underneath you was still relentless. 

From your uncertain gaze to the way your hands clenched, Haru figured out what was making you so hesitant, and he couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips roll up in an almost cheeky way. You could only stare. 

“W – what’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he answered and went back to finish what he started. “We won’t fall off,” he breathed against your bare stomach, holding back yet another smirk. 

You would have frowned in annoyance, if it weren’t for the fact that he was already removing your pants and undergarments. 

‘H – Haru,’ you whispered as quietly as you could, worried that you might not be able to hold back your moans. He started kissing the inside of your thighs, with his hands teasingly squeezing them now and then. The sensation made you relax, so much that you even dared to lay back down, not having the energy to hold yourself up with your elbows. 

When he started involving his teeth, just like he did when he was on your neck, a quiet yelp escaped your mouth, which you somewhat managed to muffle, though you were pretty sure the nearby servants heard it. You were about to chastise him, when his lips finally reached your core.  
Breathlessly, you fell back again and let him part your legs, so as he could move closer. With talented precision, he circled his tongue on you, making sure to slow down sometimes and drag his lips across you with special devotion. 

Of course, doing all this while frequently locking his deep blue eyes with yours. 

Your breathing only increased and to show how open you were to his touch, you raised your arms above your head. Sensing your consent, he grabs your thighs and puts them on his shoulders, before diving in again – this time with much more vigor. 

As you felt his tongue on your again, one of your arms flew to your mouth to stifle any sound that dared to escape, while the other hand snaked itself in to his dark hair. You could feel him moaning in to your flesh, which in turn made you feel another jolt of pleasure. 

His hunger grows for you and when he finishes taking you to high heavens, you stiffen and your legs jerk violently at the electric feeling he gave you. He straightened himself and licked his lips, while you were laying splayed out before him, trying to catch your breath. 

”Haru,” you whispered, your face red from what just occurred. In a matter of seconds he was on you again, spreading your legs wide and slotting himself against you.

Long fingers trail your legs, from your calves to your behind; giving them a gentle squeeze and successfully adding to your pleasurable experience. You noticed that he was really dexterous with his touches if he wanted to. And as he descended to give you a short, teasing kiss, you realized that the same applied to his lips. 

After that, you felt him against your core, his hands never leaving your bum. His hips ease in to a familiar pace, making you shiver and ask for more. Pupils within blue eyes dilate and any and all self control is lost, as Haruka slams in to you, while you tried to suppress your moans as hard as you could. In the heat of the moment, you grab his shoulders and pull him down, smashing your lips with him. He moans louder, while his hands leave your ass and relocate in your hair, his hips only speeding up. 

Running low on air, you drew away from his lips and forcefully bit into his neck. He groaned, burying his head in your neck.

”We have to – we have to,” you gasped, trying to catch your breath. “...be quiet!”

Ignoring you, he continued with his thrusts, not missing a single beat, making your head lolling back, overwhelming you with too many sensations across your body. He is deliberately making you loose your composure, and he is achieving it, much to your chagrin. If someone hear you two...! 

You had little time to think as you two suddenly reached that point where you finally understood what Haru meant, when he said that you two ‘won’t fall off.’ 

The after shock of your orgasm makes your body tremble, with your cheeks glowing red and your hair sticking to your forehead, while Haruka is still inside you, desperately trying to catch his bread. You can feel him pant next to your neck. 

Suffice to say that later, your cheeks - pressed against his muscular chest - were radiating with such heat, you were sure it had put the sun to shame. The way he buried his nose in your hair and neck made you conclude that he was still enthralled by the scent of you.

Jasmin and amber.

You didn't regret accepting the oil massages.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Mashrabiya: A window enclosed with carved wood latticework.   
> (2) Qasaba literally means watchtower, so describing it as 'Qasaba watchtower' may come across as redundant, but I'm pretty sure not a lot of people would have known what it is, if I didn't add 'watchtower'.

It was late at night when the escort returned to the Prince’s land. While the servants were preparing to unload everything, Haru and you were still sleeping. Surprisingly, the Howdah was not only well built against the heat, but also against the freezing temperatures of the Desert. 

You squirmed between Haruka’s arms, as the noise outside began to grow louder and louder.

Opening your eyes, you looked around, half aware of your surroundings. You were greeted with the bare chest of the Prince, illuminated by the light of the moon, which somewhat slipped trough the dark curtains. 

Somewhat disoriented and bleary eyed, you propped yourself up on your elbows. The silhouette of some nearby servants were visible from your resting place, which prompted you to fully sat up. 

”Hey,” you whispered to Haru. ”Wake up! We’re here, you have to get dressed!” 

But the prince didn’t react and continued blissfully sleeping; completely unaware that you two were half naked and were just about to be discovered by the others. In all desperation, you started shaking him by the shoulders. 

Haruka opened his eyes, yawned and stretched before lazily getting up. As he did so, you threw his turban at him, to which he barely reacted, even though it hit him square in face. He pulled it off of his face and watched you anxiously fixing your attire, trying to smooth out any wrinkles or imperfections. 

Subconsciously, you were also trying to hide any mark or any clues that could lead to suspicion.

Paranoid as you were, you were sure the advisor could notice something if you weren’t careful enough. Even know, you were scared that he would somehow find out what you two were doing just earlier.

Haruka, now fully awake, dressed himself and opened the curtains before anyone else could. In sync with the curtains, the grand gates of his palace opened as well and thus you were rendered speechless yet again.

”I’m never going to get used to seeing places like these,” you whispered to yourself, taking in the Prince’s palace with breathless wonder.

It was not as grand as the Sultan’s, but to you, anything was worth gawking at, especially when you were used to live in your humble little hut. 

Once the gates behind you were closed shut, the elephants stopped. By this time both you and Haru were properly dressed and sat upright. In a matter of seconds, the Howdah was completely uncurtained and the Prince – after he himself dismounted – helped you down.

You landed surprisingly gracefully, ending up somewhat hugging Haruka, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Almost instantly, attendants emerged from the palace to help those who traveled with the Prince. At first, they didn’t notice you, but the moment they turned their attention to the Prince, they noticed your presence as well. 

One of them instantly walked up to you.

”A guest...?” he murmured under his breath, looking you up and down. You were a tad bit surprised how naturally he assumed that you were a guest, before remembering what you were wearing.

”Yes,” the Prince answered. ”She will be staying here, so please prepare one of our chambers.”

”Yes, your Highness.”

As the attendant scurried away, you gazed after him with growing uneasiness. For a long time, huh...? 

\--- 

Your chamber was quite close to the Prince’s, and quite frankly you didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand you were flattered, because you were sure it was him who wanted it to be like this, but on the other hand you were anxious what the advisor and the whole palace would think about it.

You were barely spending a day here, and you really didn’t want to start off with any kind of bad impressions! 

That night, as you lay down in your new bed, you just couldn’t fall asleep.

You were missing Asim, the old merchant and even your old home, no matter how small and insignificant it may have been. You were also thinking about Sousuke, and how he stomached the whole thing. You were thinking about your village and how you may never see it again.

Feeling distressed, you sat up, trying to catch your breath. Your chest hurt with growing anxiety and so you grabbed at your chest trough your silky night garments. 

’I need to get out,’ you thought to yourself, as you threw your cushions aside and your bare feet met with the cold marble floor.

A shiver ran up your spine and you briefly looked around for something to slip into. You found your daily slippers, the ones you arrived in, and decided to wear those. After that, you headed to your door.

As you passed by your window, the bright light of the moon shone through the intricately designed Mashrabiya (1) windows, engulfing you. At first you squinted from the sudden light, before your eyes got used to it. From the corner of your eyes, you spotted your old shawl and without hesitation, you wrapped it around your shoulders, not even realizing how odd you looked with your silk nightgown and your brown, tattered shawl.

You left your chamber as quietly as you could. Making sure that no one was on the corridors, you let yourself wander around, not really knowing where you yourself wanted to be. Or rather, you knew were you wanted to be, but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself.

It was making you feel guilty, especially considering how generous the Prince has been treating you, but you somewhat regretted coming here with him. You felt out of place and awkward, no matter how much you liked Haru. 

Before you even realized it, you ended up at a little garden. It wasn’t much and it mostly consisted of plants that didn’t need a lot of water or otherwise a lot of care.   
You stepped closer, inspecting them. 

You remembered what Haruka said to the Sultan. 

”No wonder why he said they are lacking gardeners. There’s hardly anything to attend to,” you whispered to yourself.

And yet, as bleak as it was, it was still somewhat reassuring to stand in front of so much greenery. It was rare to see so many plants in this region, drought or not. Besides, you were sure that some of the plants could be nurtured back to health, if someone only took the effort.

”Can’t sleep?” 

With a start, you turned around. Haruka was standing behind you, his arms already encircling your waist. You gave out a sigh of relief, while he rested his forehead in the dip between your shoulder and neck. 

”How did you know I was here?” you asked. Your skin prickled when you felt his lips ghost on the start of your neck.

”I didn’t know,” he breathed. ”I just thought I’d come here before going to sleep and I found you here.” He hugged you more firmly. 

”Do you come here often?” 

He hummed in agreement, not taking the effort to open his lips. ”And what brings you here?”

You knew you couldn’t evade his question. ”I couldn’t really sleep. I guess all the things that happened finally caught up with me. And,” you started quietly, unsure if you should finish your sentence. ”...I am a bit homesick too, I suppose.”

”That’s only natural,” continued Haru without a beat. ”You’ll get used to this place. To me.”

He felt you stiffen. Was it that obvious that you were still a bit shy around him? 

”I’m sorry. I am trying as hard as I can.” 

He sighed against your shoulder and straightened himself up. ”Don’t worry too much about it. Just act how you are now.”

You turned around confused. ”What? Surely you can’t mean that. Even your advisor said that I should - ”

”And _I_ said, that you shouldn’t worry. Daher is acting way too harsh with you.” 

His eyes now took in the garden behind you. ”I’ll make sure to talk to him.” 

”Are you sure this was a good idea...? Taking me here?” you asked hesitantly. The prince snapped his eyes back to you, and you could swore he almost looked offended. 

”You saved my life. This is the least I can do.” 

”I just think that you went out of your way to do this.” 

”I didn’t. You were the one who sacrificed your whole way of life to come with me.”

He leaned in for a kiss and you welcomed him. Before you two parted, he whispered a grateful ’thank you and sleep well’ against your lips. As you made your way back to your room, you crossed your way with someone with whom you never wanted to. In the long and empty halls, the prince’s advisor was coming opposite of you. 

Suddenly you got very scared. Did he see? Did he spy on you? 

As you walked past him, you bowed slightly which he mirrored, much to your surprise. You fought down the urge to pick up you pace, fearing that you will only make yourself look more suspicious than necessary. 

After that, you just couldn’t shake the off feeling that you were being watched. 

\--- 

A few days passed after that incident and ever since then you were more skittish then ever.

As if the moment shared between Haru and you before stumbling in to his advisor never happened. His advice and reassurance was all in naught; you could only worry about Daher.

Thus, you rarely left your room, being too afraid that you might see him again. Instead you tried to take up as little space as possible and be as quiet as you could be. You only left your chambers when it was meal time and even then you always tried to finish it as fast as you could.

The prince sometimes arranged it so that you would eat with him alone, but even then you couldn’t help but be afraid that somewhere his advisor would appear and set his harsh, narrow gaze on you.

A servant girl came every morning and every night, to bring you an array of intricately designed clothes, brush your hair and generally tend to everything that needed attendance.

As sad as it was, you were even somewhat acting distant with her. Paranoia made you think that even she could be some sort of spy for Daher. Who knows what that man could be capable of.

Because of your strange schedule, the days in the palace passed slowly. Almost torturously slow. One might have thought that you were trying to disappear. 

At first, the prince didn’t think much of it, thinking you were still just getting used to your new surrounding. But much to his relief, your demeanor all changed but changed, however, when one day you suddenly heard a familiar braying. 

”Asim...?” you whispered against your pillow, as you were sprayed out in your large bed.

There was a possibility that you were hallucinating. Being as homesick as you were, it really wouldn’t have been a surprise, not to mention how little human contact you had in the past few days. But you heard it again, this time louder, which you thought was proof enough for your sanity: you were not hearing things! 

With a jolt, you sprung from your bed and run straight out of your room. The elegant dress and jewelry you randomly picked out this morning fluttered and jingled with your every move, making running a bit harder for you, but you persevered.

In a matter of minutes you left the corridors and the front hall and found yourself in the entrance of the palace. Coming to a sudden halt, you allowed yourself to catch your breath while searching for the source of the sound, though it didn’t take long to find it. 

There, just before the large gates, was your old but trusted donkey, Asim. 

You smiled in elation, your legs propelling you to go forward. It was hot and you were somewhat dizzy after not having moved so much, but you didn’t care. And when you finally reached him, you even disregarded any royal etiquette and immediately hugged him around the neck. 

”Asim...!” you cooed and he seemed to recognize you, as he immediately stopped with his braying and didn’t shy away from you. How you missed him. You made sure to gingerly pet his graying fur. 

”Glad to see you are doing well.” 

Your head shot up in surprise. Standing next to Asim was another familiar face, though not as familiar as Asim himself. His turquoise eyes were not something to forget. 

”Sousuke...?” you asked in hesitation. Maybe you really were dreaming? It can’t be...! 

But the apparition in front of you didn’t disappear, instead he just sent you a gentle smile, stepping closer to you. ”Don’t you remember me?” he asked with a teasing undertone.

The distance closing between you two made it a little a bit hard to concentrate on his question.

”Ah, yes - of course I do,” you stammered, trying to avoid his gaze by looking back to Asim. You would have usually formulated your question with more tact, but the whole situation numbed any and all diplomatic sense you had, and the question was out before you could even realize it.

”What are you doing here?” 

Truth to be told it was a bit awkward meeting him again. Especially after what just happened a good week ago. Sousuke raised one of his dark eyebrow. 

”That sounded a bit defensive. Aren’t you glad to see me again?”

”Don’t be silly, that’s not why I asked!” you replied immediately, looking back in to his eyes. 

Why were you still so shy with him? ”I was just really surprised to see you here.”

Sousuke let out a quiet chuckle. ”I brought you Asim. I heard you were missing him.”

You stared at him confused, before you spotted a servant behind him. You recognized him as being one of the servants from this very palace. He was currently undoing the saddle and reins on Asim. Sousuke continued. 

”I was still back in the village, when this boy walked up to me and told me that upon the Prince’s request, your donkey is to be delivered back to the palace. Apparently he recognized me from that time, when the Prince traveled trough the village. Of course I didn’t know what he was talking about so I asked the shopkeeper and he enlightened me about your equestrian friend here.”

As he finished explaining himself, he raised his hand and lightly patted Asim on his back. 

”The shopkeeper... is he all right? I hope Asim didn’t trouble him too much.”

”He is fine, don’t worry,” Sousuke reassured you. The servant finished with his work and promptly left you two alone, giving you more privacy. ”His wife’s health improved, so he isn’t working alone,” he continued. 

”Is that so? I’m glad to hear that.” 

Though your reply seemed tepid, you really were happy that he wasn’t left alone with his work. A few seconds passed in awkward silence, before Sousuke drew closer to you. 

”What about you? Are _you_ all right?” he asked and you saw the way he looked you up and down, clearly not used to seeing you in such expensive clothes. The question took you off guard, more so because you weren’t so sure how to answer that. 

”I am fine, I suppose. I just need to get used to this place.” 

Sousuke stared at you dubiously. ”I take it that the Prince is treating you right?” 

At this you reddened. Try as you might, you couldn’t ignore the double meaning that sentence carried. Does he know what kind of relationship you have with the Prince? The expectant look on his face didn’t help either. You could sense that he wanted to hear something bad about the Prince. 

”He treats me very well, thank you,” you replied, as composed as you could. For a fleeting moment you touched the gorgeous necklace on your neck, which Sousuke took as another message just how well the Prince treated you.

His gaze hardened and the silence between you two got awkward again.

You cleared your throat. ”I wanted to thank you for bringing me Asim. I hope it wasn’t too much of a trouble for you.”

”It wasn’t,” he answered sharply. ”As a matter of fact, I insisted on being the one to bring him to you. The servant reassured me that he can escort Asim alone, but I wanted to come.”

He looked at you straight in the eyes; his bright teal eyes suddenly void of anything friendly and warm. You could only stare back at him, not quite understanding why he suddenly got so cold.

Though after your little staring contest, his features changed and he sighed. 

”I’m sorry, (Name). I just can’t get the rid of the feeling that you are being held here against your own will.” 

You shook your head. ”I swear I came because I wanted to!”

”But _why?_ ” he asked, almost seethed, suddenly stepping much closer to you. ”Just what did you do to make the Prince so grateful and bring you here?”

You froze in your spot, which was saying something considering how hot it was. You stuttered, avoiding Sousuke’s gaze and tried to come up with something really fast.

”You heard what the Prince said, right? I saved him.”

”How?” 

”I... I just found him out in the desert, he was lying unconscious. I brought him back to my hut and nursed him back to health.” Of course you were smarter not to mention what happened after that. 

”What?” Sousuke asked, his eyes growing to the size of saucers. ”Do you know how dangerous that was? He could have easily done something to you!”

”He was _unconscious!_ He barely knew what was happening to him!”

Sousuke still stared at you with suspicion. It was clear that this whole thing still didn’t sit well with him. ”Maybe he is abusing your trust.”

Now you were really starting to get aggravated. ”What the hell are you talking about?”

”He took a liking to you because you saved him, but instead of just giving you gold, he will ask you to be his mistress.”

You didn’t look as shocked as he expected you to look, which only made him stare back at you incredulously. A few seconds passed with him searching your face for any traces of disgust, but he only found mild surprise. He stepped back.

”Don’t tell me you actually want - ”

”No, I don’t! I mean - - that won’t happen. If you want to know, he hasn’t approached me like that at all.”

You had to lie, no matter how uncomfortable it made you. There was more to save then just your own skin. Sousuke’s eyes still studied your expression, although not as vigorously as before, and so you were still standing under his gaze, but not as self – consciously as before. 

But then he said something that almost made you want to slap him. 

”(Name), I never assumed you were one of those kind of women, but could your willingness to stay with him have a particular reason? Like his background...?” he asked, while jutting his chin out in the direction to the palace behind you. At this, you could only gape at him like a fish. 

_How dare he...?_

”Are you accusing me of being a gold digger?”

Sousuke had to give it to you. At first glance you were seen as a timid little woman, someone who most probably shied away from expressing her opinions or getting in to debates, but as you were standing here before him, with steel cold eyes peering back at him, he had to come to the realization that you were far more assertive than he had ever thought. 

There was no way that someone like you could have been forced to come here and stay here, if you really didn’t want to. You were here, because you wanted to be here. He didn’t know the reason why and at this point, he wondered if he even wanted to. All things considered, you seemed to be here on your own accord. 

His hopes were shattered yet again and you saw it in his eyes, the way his lips twitched in dissatisfaction. You raised your hands to Asim’s head and gently urged him to follow you. 

”Thank you for bringing him to me. Take care.”

And with that you turned on your heel, with Asim following you. Sousuke was left there watching your retreating form. Truth to be told, he didn’t even feel angry or sad – just kind of confused. He knew that you were adamant about being with the Prince, so much that he already had the inkling that you had fallen for him. Nothing else made sense. 

With nothing to do there and with him being finished with his errand, he too turned around, ready to leave the palace’s front garden. However, when he reached the gates, he was abruptly stopped by someone calling for his attention. 

”Hey...!,” whispered someone from nearby. At first, Sousuke didn’t know where the sound was coming from. He turned around, when he heard the sound again, this time louder.

”Hey! Up here!”

He did as he was told, and this lead him to look up to the Qasaba(2) watchtower that only stood a few meters from his left. He saw the tiny square window built into it’s wall, and instantly assumed, that the source of the voice came from that window. 

He walked up to the watchtower and stopped right under the window.

”Is anyone up there?” Sousuke asked. 

”Yes, yes, there is! Don’t be afraid of me, I just have something to ask you,” answered the mysterious voice.

As Sousuke stood and listened, he immediately noticed something. The voice of this someone was raspy and resembled that of an old man’s, though he had to admit, that he never heard anyone talk like this, which made him conclude that whoever was speaking to him was deliberately trying to alter their voice, in order to remain unknown. 

And if this wasn’t reason enough to become wary of them, the fact that they were hidden behind the tiny window was somehow unnerving. No matter how much Sousuke craned his neck, he couldn’t see who was behind there, as the window was not only small but high up as well. 

He contemplated what to do. This might be dangerous, though he couldn’t really imagine how he could get in danger like this. Not to mention the fact that he was kind of really curious who the mysterious person was behind the window. 

”All right,” he started. ”What do you want to know?” 

The voice didn’t hesitate. ”You like this girl, right?” 

Sousuke was taken aback. It was not hard to find out whom they were talking about. For a moment he even felt himself getting red. The voice chuckled, not even letting him answer.

”You do, don’t you?” 

At first, Sousuke remained in stubborn silence. ”So what if I do? What’s it to you?”

”No need to get defensive, son,” replied the voice, to which Sousuke cocked an eyebrow. ’Son...?,’ he thought to himself questioningly. The mystery person might have voiced his reply in a way to appear more trustworthy and gentle, but to Sousuke his tone only came across as teasing. 

He was about to turn around and leave, deeming the conversation to be finished, when he heard the voice call for him again. ”Wait, wait...! Don’t you want to hear what I have to say about her? I think you might want to know.”

The dark – haired male stopped despite his better judgment. The more he stood before the Qasaba, the more he wanted to leave. He had a strange feeling about the owner of the mysterious voice. And yet... 

”All right,” he answered.

Ah, curse his Achilles heels. Then again, maybe not. As cross as he was with you, he didn’t want to curse you – far from it. The person in the Qasaba seemed pleased about Sousuke’s willingness to hear them out. 

”Good, good... Listen, boy. There is a way for you to win her back.”

For a while, silence filled the air. The only thing Sousuke felt at that moment was a drop of sweat sliding down his back. Even without seeing the person in the tower, he could sense that they were grinning. 

His mouth moved without him even realizing it.

”Speak.”

\---

The next evening, your sleeplessness tormented you again.

You tossed and turned, but sleep just didn’t want to come. Now that you had Asim, you were somewhat hopeful that your homesickness would vanish, but it still kind of lingered in your heart.

Of course the shame that came with it wasn’t any better. Not to mention that what happened with Sousuke was making you feel guilty as well.

You were partly blaming him for making you feel guilty, because even if he came all the way from your village to bring you Asim, the things he said about Prince Haruka and you were infuriating.   
Just as your thoughts shifted to his inexcusable behaviour, you heard a knock on your door.

You flinched and sat up, silently staring at the semi - circled door. Before you could even stand up, the door opened and in came Haruka. 

You blinked. ’Of course,’ you thought to yourself. ’Who else would knock on my door?’

The servant girl that cared for you already finished her job for today. 

”I’m sorry,” said the prince as he closed the door behind him and walked straight up to your bed. ”Did I wake you?”

You shook your head. ”No, I was already awake.”

He stared at you, noticing the circles under your eyes. ”You still can’t sleep, can you?”

A quiet sigh escaped your lips. There was no denying it, was there. You didn’t answer him, to which he carefully sat down on your bed. Only now did you realize that he was only wearing harem pants. 

”I heard that you got Asim back.” As it was dark and the moon wasn’t there to share it’s light, it was kind of hard to see his expression. Thus you were left staring at his silhouette, only guessing what he was feeling right now. ”Yeah. I was really happy, because I missed him.”

Did he know it was Sousuke who brought him to you? You didn’t think it was important; still you somehow sensed that he wouldn’t have been necessarily elated by knowing it. 

”Is there something you wanted to tell me?” you asked him after a while. Haru didn’t do anything and you were unsure what was going trough his head. Still, you couldn’t ignore the prickling sensation you felt by sitting so close to him. He didn’t answer, and that served as enough of a message for you why he was here. 

The prince raised his hand to the back of your head and leaned forward, capturing your lips. His kiss was gentle and slow; his lips almost ghosting over your mouth.

Your heart trembled from his affection, before you felt him draw closer to you. It wasn’t long before he angled his head and deepened the kiss; his lips on you in a more needy fashion. When he felt your hesitation, he let out a groan, biting your lips. Before you two got more heated in your activities, you drew away from him. Haru sensed your uneasiness and stopped. 

”What’s wrong?” he half whispered, half panted against your ear.

”I’m sorry, I’m just... really not in the mood to do this.” For a moment, you were a bit scared that he would get angry at you, but he only separated himself from you. His fingers found your chin and he made you look at him. His eyes were so close, that even in the semidarkness you could see his bright, ocean – blue eyes. 

”Tell me what’s bothering you. Ever since you came here, you have been acting very absentmindedly. Are you really just homesick?”

For a while, you remained quiet, not really wanting to tell him what was on your mind. 

”I’m just... still so unsure.”

Much to your shock, you could hear Haruka sigh in what sounded like annoyance. ”Are you still worried about Daher? Or that you don’t belong here?”

”It’s only been a week since I am here! I still need time! And don’t act like he isn’t breathing down my neck! You yourself told me that he acts harsh with me and that you would approach him because of that”

You saw his head move in disagreement. ”He acts stricter then he should, yes, but you are acting like he deliberately plans to do your harm! He is my advisor and he helped me since I was little. I trust him and I’m telling you that he doesn’t care about you as much as you think he does.”

It was easy for him to say this. It wasn’t him who met him all alone in a corridor late at night. it wasn’t him who had to outright flee from his disapproving stare. 

”Don’t trivialize my worries! I still don’t feel at home! I can’t help it okay?! What if you were suddenly whisked away somewhere far away from your home? It’s not that easy, all right?”

”I tried to make you feel as home as much as I could! What else do you want from me, (Name)?”

”Nothing else but your understanding, please!” you begged, almost on the edge of tears. ”Please just bear with me! I need time to think.”

The prince intently watched you, before he followed your request and left your chamber in silence, not even saying anything. At first you could only stare after him, completely flabbergasted that he would just leave you like that, before tears welled up in your eyes and you started sobbing.

All the guilt you felt prior because of Sousuke only intensified now that you told Haruka everything. Were you really just being selfish? You in all honesty believed that your feelings were justified. 

You began crying more heavily. Everything little thing since that day you met him caught up to you and demanded to be let out! Next to your shame was the clear recognition of regret. 

Yes, regret. You suddenly caught yourself _regretting_ everything. You should have just left the prince out in the desert. Who cares what would have happened to him? You should have just refused to be taken away and stay with Sousuke! He might have treated you better.

Might. But then, just this afternoon he too acted with you so harshly! He even accused you of being a little harlot that only cared about fortune! 

You were so angry at yourself! 

Your sobbing was disrupted by another knock on your door. You hiccuped, not awaiting another knock, before you immediately stood up from your bed and went to open the door, thinking it was Haruka who came back.

You wanted to talk things trough with him again, to even apologize. Maybe you really were a bit too dramatic about this...! All in all, you really didn’t want to be angry with him! At the end of the day you still really liked him. 

With your heart pounding in your chest, you opened your door with trembling hands, your tears still not completely gone from your eyes. 

”Haru - - !”

You didn’t even have the time to scream, when a big, burly hand came down to your mouth and effectively silenced you. A muffled yelp escaped from your mouth and you desperately tried to free yourself with your hands, but all in naught. 

”Miss,” you heard a deep baritone voice whisper. ”Let me take you somewhere where you’ll really feel at home.”

\--- 

”The first group of people from our land came back yesterday from the Sultan’s land. They say they had a safe journey and plan to go again next week,” read Daher from a message he received not long ago from one of the the palace’s falcon messengers. 

After that he remained quiet, waiting for some kind of acknowledgment from the Prince, who was currently seated at the throne his parents used to occupy before they traveled away. His posture was less then composed; with his legs slightly set apart, and his back leaning against the headboard of his throne seat. His head was supported on his hand and his eyes were staring slightly unfocused at something outside.

It was obvious, that his mind was on anything but on the received message. And it wasn’t difficult for his advisor to notice that. 

”Your Highness?”

The prince didn’t react and only continued looking outside; dull blue eyes not staring at anything particular. This, of course, didn’t bode well with his advisor.

”Your Highness!” he tried again, much louder this time. 

The younger male flinched and turned his attention to the short man before him. His reaction made it look like he just only now noticed Daher in the throne room, much to the annoyance of the latter.

Haruka slightly shook his head, as if he just woke up and straightened himself in his seat. Ever since yesterday night, he couldn’t concentrate on anything. His mind was always on you.

”I’m sorry. What were you talking about again?”

His advisor coldly stared back at him. ”Allow me to say this, Prince, but I think it would be high time for you to get serious! Your land is still in turmoil. You can’t allow yourself to be this unfocused.”

Haruka nodded, kneading his temples. ”I know. I apologize.”

Daher let out an annoyed sigh. Before he could continue reading the message, a servant girl suddenly barged in without knocking. ”YOUR HIGHNESS!”

The advisor whipped his head in the direction of the girl, ready to reprimand her. ”What in heavens?! How dare you - ?!”

She dropped to her knees, begging for apology. ”I apologize profusely, Your Highness! But something terrible has happened!”

Haruka immediately stood up and hurriedly walked up to the servant girl. ”What? What happened?” 

He already was stick to his stomach. This is just what he needed. The servant girl raised her head from the floor, but still remained in her kneeling position. 

”Your guest -- ! She disappeared!”

The prince stared at her with utmost horror. He was half – aware of his advisor putting away something behind him. 

”...What?”

”I came to tend to her, as I did every morning! When I reached her room, her door was wide open and nobody was inside! I thought she may have forgotten to close her door but everything in her room was in disarray!”

The servant girl bowed again. ”I beg for your mercy, Highness! I searched for her everywhere, but I don’t know where she is. The guards couldn’t find her either.”

The prince felt dizzy and he turned around helplessly. He raised a hand to his head, clutching at his dark hair. This couldn’t happen! This can’t be...! 

As if struck by lightning, he immediately ran out of the throne room, rushing past the servant girl and almost knocking her over in the process. He could hear his advisor shouting after him, but he ignored him. All he wanted to do now is to run to your room. He ran past servants, young and old, male and female, who could only gape at him as he run past them. 

In a matter of minutes he reached your room. At your door were his guards, seemingly trying to search for any kind of trace as to where you could have suddenly vanished. Breathlessly, he walked up to them, worried and angry at the same time. 

”What’s the meaning of this?!” he shouted at them, to which they immediately stood straight. This must have been the first time they actually heard their Prince shout. One of the braver ones answered. 

”Your Highness...! We’re searching for her as hard as we can.”

Ignoring him, he brushed past him and barged in to your room. The sight made his heart stop in dread. Your sheets were carelessly shoved aside and some of your clothes were on the floor. The window was slightly ajar. But there was no sign of you.

He stayed in the room, trying to think, trying to find out where you were, but his panic was overwhelming him. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breath. _(Name)...!_

His guards were uncertainly standing behind him, pondering if they should leave him alone, before they spotted Daher hurrying towards the prince. Haruka heard his familiar steps, but remained with his back turned to him. 

”Your Highness,” gasped his advisor. He was out of breath, clearly having been running after him. Still, he continued. ”The disappearance of your guest is unfortunate, yes, but you can’t act like this wasn’t foreseeable!”

At his, Haruka snapped his head up, before slowly turning around. Daher was still panting, his wrinkles even more visible trough the sweat accumulated on his face. He tried to wipe away the perspiration with his robe from his balding head. 

The prince, now fully facing him, asked him. ”Foreseeable? What was foreseeable?”

”That she will leave you,” answered the advisor without a shred of sympathy. Haruka’s blood froze and Daher used this moment to further explain himself. 

”My son,” he started, now in a more somber voice. ”She was but a mere peasant. She was used to live in her little village, surrounded by simple people. People like her were meant to live where they were born and not here, in this grand palace. You can’t force a donkey to live in a horse – stable.”

”Donkey...,” he repeated Haruka, completely dumbfounded. His advisor continued with a nonchalant shrug. ”She most probably sneaked out at night and left the palace. She was meek enough to slip trough the guards.”

Haruka gaped at Daher, before turning around again and roaming your room with his eyes. He spotted your shawl among the clothes strewn across the floor. With wide eyes, he went to pick it up. In mere desperation, he buried his nose in the fabric and deeply inhaled your scent, sadness gradually making itself present in his heart. 

Memories of yesterday night came back. It was true; you two did get in some sort of fight and he did leave you rather coldly. But did he really hurt you that much that he quite literally drove you out of his life? Why, oh why did he leave without a word? This wouldn’t have happened if he would have only stayed and listened to you! 

With a forlorn look, he glanced outside your half opened window. The view from your chamber was breathtaking, but now he was unable to appreciate it. From here, one could even see one of the many courtyards which was surrounded by date palm trees.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Asim, currently grazing away at something he most probably got from one of the servants as food. It took him a few seconds, before he realized something. Wait just a minute...! 

He turned on his heel. ”You there,” he pointed to one of the guards from before. ”Yes...?” answered said guard, a bit taken aback by his sudden movement.

”Did someone come in yesterday? Someone suspicious?” he demanded, stepping close, almost threateningly closer to the poor sod. ”Anyone unfamiliar?”

The prince was so caught up in his questions, that he didn’t even notice Daher shooting a knowing look at the guard. The guard stuttered. ”Aside from that one man who brought the lady’s donkey, no – one!”

”...Man? What _man?_ ”

Now he was really angry. Who did they let in without his permission? His advisor immediately spoke up, deeming it appropriate for him to answer instead of his guard.

”You know him, Your Highness. That one tall lad with whom you stopped to play sword fights on your way to the Sultan’s palace.” 

Turquoise eyes and a gleaming Shamshir were the first things that crossed his mind. ”Him..?! You let someone like that man in?!” he raised his voice again. 

The guards were at loss of words, not really knowing how to answer. The advisor came to their help again. ”Your Highness? Your guards are unaware of your little sparring with him, remember? No one but you and me know. ...Ah, and well, of course your little guest.”

He paused a bit, noticing how tense the prince’s neck and shoulders were. As much as he tried to remain in one place, he could see that he was livid with rage, and he knew that he needed to pick his words carefully. ”And he only came to bring the lady’s donkey. After that, he immediately left. But of course...”

The prince tensed even more, waiting for his advisor to finish his sentence. Daher shut his eyes in a knowing manner. ”...It’s not impossible that her leaving the palace was prompted by seeing him again.” 

Haruka shook his head, his eyes blazing with fury. It didn’t even take him long before he turned to his guards and gave his next orders. 

”Listen up! Prepare a camel for me and some other guards as escort! I’m going out!”

”As you wish, Your Highness!” As the guards left, his advisor immediately reached after him. ”Your Highness, wait! What in Heavens are you doing?!”

”I will bring her back!” He couldn’t see his advisor frowning. Daher spoke up again, trying to convince him otherwise. ”Why are you so adamant about bringing her back?! If she doesn’t want to be here, then let her be!”

Haruka whipped his head back. ”I refuse to believe that...! And even if she really wanted to leave me, I want to hear her say it to me – right in my face!”

The way he shouted this made even his advisor falter. There were a lot of times when the prince challenged him or stated his disagreement, but this... this was something else. He let go of him and watched him run out of the chamber. 

After that he was left alone in your room. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted your donkey being led away by guards. 

\---

The sloshing of water reached your ears. ”Ugh,” you groaned. _My head...!_

Though you were still half – unconscious and you had no idea where you were, you could clearly hear the distinctive sound of water. Water... more like waves. Massive amount of water. An ocean...? you wondered to yourself. 

Little by little, you were willing yourself to wake up. At first you noted the wooden floor underneath you and the way it rocked from one side to the other, as gently as a swing. For some reason you were unable to open your eyes, no matter how much you tried. Still, all things considered, you could only assume one thing. ’A ship,’ you thought to yourself. ’I must be on a ship.’

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ’Why am I on a ship?’

You were starting to get worried. Where were you? You don’t remember getting on any kind of ship. The last thing you could remember was opening your door and – 

With a gasp you immediately opened your eyes and tried to stand up, but you fell back again. Your legs were weak and numb, probably from being in the same cramped position for a good few hours. 

The painful prickling sensation immediately took over your legs, as blood started flowing back.

”Argh,” you quietly breathed out in pain. You wanted to massage your legs, but you realized that your hands were bound behind you. 

”What...?” you whispered out breathlessly, becoming terrified minute by minute. You tried to free your hands, but no matter how hard you tugged at the ropes, they wouldn’t budge. Your legs still hurt. And why does your head throb so much...? Really, just were were you? 

Holding back tears, you raised your head and wildly looked around, trying to take in your surroundings. The rocking of the wooden floor beneath you continued, and as you looked around, you realized that you were indeed on a ship.

It was quite dark, safe for the few portholes in the wall, that let in a little sunshine. The first thing you recognized from your surrounding were wooden crates.

You squinted your eyes, trying to read the labels on some of them and sure enough – your recognized the strange red letters. 

As you were trying to piece together the pieces, the sound of steps reached your ears. Your heart thumping in your throat, you waited with bathed breath. Never were you so scared before.

A door opened and the sudden light that slipped in blinded you, prompting you to turn your head away. 

”Looks like you’re awake, missy” drawled an unfamiliar male voice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Finiqiyah - Phoenicia  
> (2) Deben - Ancient Egyptian weight unit they used to pay with. The heavier something was (eg. copper, bronze, silver, gold) the more expensive it was. An ordinary slave was worth 10 deben of copper, so you can imagine why Sousuke was so flabbergasted when he asked to pay more.   
> (3) Kumat - Ancient Egypt   
> (4) on point - sword fighting terminology; when the sword points to the opponent's throat.   
> (5) Khopesh - egyptian weapon.   
> (6) Nettipattam - a traditional Keralian item, used to decorate elephants with.

Back then, when he was still just a boy from a rural village, Sousuke heard something quite peculiar. Someone told him, that in ancient Finiqiyah (1) there once lived a man, who thought that everything around us originated from water. Every matter, life in itself and even humans – everything was born from water. 

Even as a young boy, he could somewhat understand why that man would think that. He also envied that very same man, for having the luck to live by the ocean. 

But now that he was waiting at the harbor, with sea salt practically assaulting him from left to right, he wasn’t so sure if he really wanted to live here. This thought made him sneer. Look at him, being all picky! Water was fine, as long as it wasn’t _salt_ water. 

And then his mind wandered to you. Again. For probably the fiftieth time. Where did he even have the right to paint you as picky, when here he was, being picky himself. Sousuke briefly wondered if – in your eyes perhaps, he was more like salt water and the Prince was sweet.

He shook his head. He hadn’t slept very well in the last few days and it showed. Moreover, he was so caught up in his dwelling about ancient Greek philosophy, that he didn’t even notice the ship emerging on the horizon. 

In all frustration, an exasperated sigh left him. Him not noticing the ship right away was yet another indicator for his poor condition. He really needs to pull himself together.

Because as much as Sousuke didn’t like to admit it, he was nervous as Hell, even though he couldn’t really pinpoint the exact reason why. As much as he racked his brain to find one, he didn’t have any. At the moment, at least... 

The vessel he detected on the see reached the harbor. Men, sailors and everyone else in - between prepared the gangway for him to step on. While he was boarding the ship, he felt stares directed at him, drilling in to his back. He tried to discreetly look around, without having to turn his head so much, and saw the crew greeting him at the ship’s entrance. 

It was at this point when Sousuke finally realized what exactly made him feel so uneasy about this whole ordeal.

It was not nice to judge by appearance, and he stuck to this motto for most of the time. Still, even with a fleeting look he could tell that these _gentlemen_ standing around him and staring at him with a strange, curious glint in their eyes were far from what he would describe as your average, run of the mill merchants. And he would know, as it takes one to know one. 

As he finally reached the deck, the men around him parted to let him trough. The foul smell got to his nose as he passed by some of them, making him almost frown in disgust. _'Don’t tell me...!'_

The sound of heavy steps on wood reached his ear. Turning straight afore, he was met with a tall man, whose pot belly and graying sideburns didn’t really give the impression of a peaceful, grandfather - like figure. And with every passing minute, Sousuke’s stomach sank and sank.

As stated before, he wasn’t one for judging, but there was a boundary for everything, even for tolerance. He knew he crossed that boundary, when his gut feeling was heavily ringing his alarm bells. 

Were these men really the ones that escorted you to him? That was rather worrying, he thought.

They looked anything but trustworthy. And his suspicion only grew when the man before him opened his mouth.

”Good to see you’re here, lad,” greeted the older male, whom he presumed to be the Captain of the ship. ”Now I don’ want this to drag on longer than it would be necessary, so let’s get straight to business. Though let me jus’ tell you, that I don’ usually negotiate wit’ people I haven’ seen before, but you look like an honest man.”

Sousuke furrowed his brows in bewilderment. ”Negotiate... ?!”

It was this particular word, that completely and utterly revealed to him that he may have made a big, gigantic mistake. True to his worries, you appeared out of nowhere. 

Appeared? More like _dragged forcefully_ by your arm.

Sousuke couldn’t believe his eyes as you were lead there non too gently by someone who looked more like a criminal then a merchant. With hands bound behind you, you had quite the difficulty to free yourself from his grip, but this certainly didn’t stop you from trying. You were thrashing around as much as you could, shouting and demanding to be freed. 

That was when you saw him and stopped in confusion. 

Sousuke opened his mouth to say something, but his throat refused to. What was there to say? He himself didn’t really know what was going on either, and of course, you didn’t know this, and that’s how he had to experience your beautiful orbs shooting him your dirtiest look. 

”What is the meaning of this...?” you growled, the sheer wrath in you voice making everyone around you flinch. You locked your eyes straight with Sousuke. ”ANSWER ME!”

Sousuke licked his lips to speak, but the Captain took away his opportunity.

”My, what a fiery lass,” he commented with a raised eyebrow. Scratching his stubbled chin, he continued. ”I have honestly never seen a slave behave like this before.” 

Your eyes popped out and Sousuke forgot how to breath. You could see some men around you nod their head in agreement, looking just as nonplussed as their Captain. 

”Slave...?” you asked breathlessly, almost wheezing. The whole world was turning around you. Before the Captain opened his mouth again, you interrupted him with a shriek that made even the seagulls perched upon the mast fly away. 

” **SLAVE?!** ” you roared in indignation and starting wildly flailing around again, trying to free your hands. The man behind you tried to hold you in place, but he had quite the hard time doing so. 

Accidentally, but at the same time kind of willingly, you ended up punching the man behind you in his face with your elbow, causing him to let you free in his agony. To the surprise of the Captain and the crew around him, you immediately stumbled to Sousuke, with nostrils flaring and eyes blazing in utter fury.

” **YOU KIDNAPPED ME AND SOLD ME IN TO SLAVERY?!** ”

Sousuke had to take a few steps back from your outburst. Even if your hands were still bound, he knew that even so you could have seriously hurt him in someway or another.

”Wait, no – I didn’t...!” He really had to get his grip. ”I didn’t sell you in to anything! I heard from someone in the palace that the Prince was keeping you his captive! And that you weren' there on your own accord! They told me that they could bring you to me so I could get you out of there! Nobody told me anything about this!”

”How dumb do you think I am, huh?” you seethed with rage. The loathing in your voice was alarming.

”I told you already in the palace, that I was fine! Why don’t you ever listen to me, you idiot! Now look what happened!”

Feeling ashamed, he looked away from your eyes, sending a somewhat helpless glance to the men around them. Ridiculous, really. As if they would care. It was clear to him by this point that they were pirates and that whoever spoke to him in that watchtower clearly deceived him. Oh, what a mess he created. 

”Who was it?” you demanded, anger still not subsiding. Sousuke blinked perplexed, looking everywhere and nowhere at the same time. 

”...I don’t know.”

”What?” you growled. Sousuke didn’t answer. He was biting his lip and looked almost ready to cry. If your hands were free, you would have slapped him on the spot. 

”What do you mean you don’t know?!”

”I didn’t see them, all right? They were hidden inside a watchtower and I - -- I just thought...!”

”...You listened to someone you didn’t even get to see face to face?! IS THAT IT?!” 

Just as your words were out, you were already pushing against his chest with your shoulders and flailing with your bound hands behind you. Sousuke was half - heartedly raising his arms in defense, but your attempts to slap him was nothing short of the words you threw at him.

Because he knew he deserved it. You had every right to be livid with rage. 

As struck by lightning, you suddenly whirled around and headed straight to the Captain.

”OI! I want to know who brought me to this ship! Tell me this instant or so help me...!”

The Captain recoiled. It was clear on his face that he didn’t appreciate being spoken to in that particularly demanding tone that you were using on him, but his courage to call you out on your attitude quickly diminished when he saw the look you gave him. 

His men had to witness their fearless Captain get intimidated by a mere slave. When you were only a few steps away from him, he finally stuttered out the answer to your question.

”Aa – h, I didn’ see his face either, missy! It was some cloaked figure; said he want’d to make a deal wit’ me! I remember him being very short, he was probably a wee bit older then me.”

Eyes wide with recognition, you suddenly stood still. Everyone on the ship glanced at you with confusion. With a grim face, you turned back to Sousuke. 

”The advisor,” you concluded. 

Sousuke stared back at you. You could see that he was trying to remember whom you were talking about. ”I see,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes. ”That man who interrupted the Prince and me dueling?”

You nodded, marginally aware that this information you just shared with him seemed to pique the interest of the pirates around you as well. For a fleeting moment, you wondered why, but then eventually turned back to the Captain, who by now managed to regain his composure. 

”I ask you to let me go. The deal you had with that man was unjust. I am not a slave.”

”She is right,” intervened Sousuke immediately. ”I made a mistake. Apparently, both you and me have been deceived by that man.”

Shaking his head, the Captain held up his hand. ”Now jus’ wait a minute! Deceived or not, you still owe me money. After all, I brought you the girl safe and sound, haven’ I?”

You shared a worried look with Sousuke. He gulped, which didn’t mean anything good. ”All right.”

Sousuke reached for his pouch that was fastened on his belt, before he heard the Captain interrupt him again. ”Hold it, will ya? Our original price won’t be enough.”

Both you and Sousuke looked up with a mix of surprise and dread. ”What do you mean by that?!” demanded Sousuke. ”How much do you want then?”

”Ten deben of silver (2),” answered the Captain without hesitation. 

”What?” you whispered in disbelief. ”That’s impossible!” countered Sousuke immediately. ”The price you told me at first was way less!”

”True that, lad,” started the Captain, scratching his bearded jaw in interest. ”But that was before it dawned on me how valuable your precious lady friend is. I heard somethin’ about an advisor, ey? I reckon that not jus’ anyone has one of those. The little missy is running away from royalty. Am I right or am I right?” 

The Captain sneered, a laugh slowly bubbling up from his throat when he realized that he was indeed spot on. ”That understandably raises her price; git what I’m sayin’, boy?”

Sweat trickled down from your temple and from the corner of your eyes you saw Sousuke getting more and more pale. ”Look,” started Sousuke, trying to act as reasonable as he could with a pirate.

”I don’t have that much on me right now. But if you let me just return to -- ”

”Nah – ah!” cut him the Captain off. ”Don’t try to play that game with me, lad, I wasn’ born yesterday. Next thing I know is you making a beeline with the little missy without payin’ up. I can’ afford that.”

”I won’t do that, I promise. I just want to resolve my business here and then leave.”

”And you can, boy, you can,” reassured the Pirate, cheekily. ”Once you give me the amount I asked of you.”

”I told you, I don’t have that much with me right now,” replied Sousuke, strangely still having the nerve to stay calm.

’How does he do it,’ you wondered to yourself. You yourself were so scared, that your own heartbeat almost rendered you deaf. Then again, it was your fate at hand here, not his. With growing uneasiness, you glanced at him from the corner of your eye and that was when you noticed something. 

You caught his hand strategically moving closer to his Scabbard and a thought crossed your mind.

Was he actually planning to fight all these men around you? Surely he wouldn’t...! There is no way...!

Then again, this is the man who made a bargain with someone he had never even seen before, so why would a fight with a dozen pirates be out of his league? This did little to help you calm down, if anything. There is no way he would win if it actually came to a fight! Just why, oh why is he so stupidly reckless?! 

Your internal monologue was cut short with the Captain speaking up again.

”Look, just to show you that I’m not such a heartless merchant,” started the man again. ”You could also give me something else, say, for example,” he started pacing back and forth, acting like he was deep in thought, but the disgusting smirk on his face betrayed him all too well. He already knew what he wanted, and only took that silence to give it a more dramatic effect. 

”...how about 15 loaf of bread and 5 jugs full of beer?” 

Sousuke sighed again. ”What makes you think that I have either one of those things on me right now? I told you, haven’t I? I only have the amount you asked of me originally.”

The Captain shrugged nonchalantly. ”Fine with me, lad. If you can’t pay, then I will simply take her with me to Kumat (3). You are familiar with the Land of Black Soil, aren’ you?” 

Both you and Sousuke tensed; him more then you. Whether consciously or not, he took one step forward, somewhat shielding you from everyone. The Captain noticed and let out a laugh. 

”Don’ even bother, you are coming with us. Don’ think that I’ll just let you free after not payin’ me!”

”I wasn’t about to leave. Not without her.”

”Good, good! You’ll only make our work easier. And the people of Kumat will be more then happy to use you as their worker for their irrigation. I can already see that I’ll get double the price for you two then with our original bargain.”

The Captain finished with a laugh, eyeing us up and down and nodding satisfyingly.

”Irrigation...?” you asked with honest curiosity. ”What do you mean by that?”

”I ain’t a teacher, missy, but it boils down do this: The people of Kumat have invented a system that lets them water their crops when there hasn’ been any rain for a long time. It’s jus’ a system of canals and whatnot that preserve water for rougher times. The drought didn’ ignore Kumat, either, you know.”

He explained the whole thing with simple words, but you got the gist of it. You made the effort to remember everything he told you, knowing full well that he wouldn’t elaborate about that system any further. You didn’t have much time, however, to completely mull this newly acquired information over, as the Captain suddenly turned to his crew. 

”Boys! Tie up the lad as well and take them both away!”

With an affirmative shout, all the pirates gathered around you two, ready to tie up Sousuke and lead you away. You sucked in a breath, still not ready to accept your demise. What little hope you had to be saved was thrown out the window when two well – built men walked up to you.

You really couldn’t handle being manhandled again!

Just when they were about to grab you by your shoulder, a sound akin to metal being scraped stopped them in their steps. Confused, you whipped your head around, only to see Sousuke wielding his Shamshir and having cut the rope they wanted to tie him up with in half.

All the pirates stepped back, taken aback by his sudden move. The Captain looked on as well, before grimacing. 

”Dumb boy,” he whispered under his breath. ”What do you think you are doing? Do you seriously think about getting in a fight with us? You are outnumbered, you fool!”

Sousuke was only somewhat listening to what the old man was yelling at him, as he promptly turned around, using the shock of the men around him to his advantage. With a single movement, he cut your ropes that bound your hands together. The fabric fell to the ground, hitting the wooden deck with a heavy sound.

”Stay behind me and tell me whenever someone sneaks upon me, got it?”

You could weakly nod, still trying to digest what just happened. Sousuke didn’t wait for you to give a clear cut response, not having the time to dilly – dally around and instead turned around, facing the Captain with a cocky grin. 

”I think I can take on a bunch of measly pirates.”

” _What did you just say?!_ ”

”You heard me,” provoked Sousuke. ”Now, are your men going to fight me or are you going to let us go peacefully?”

The Captain and his men were undoubtedly very irked by now, but the way they eyed the Shamshir betrayed their masked uncertainty. Not wanting to seem weak, the Captain ordered his men to attack. 

”C’mon! Show them who he is up against!”

The men did as ordered, and with a battle cry, swiftly grabbed their respective weapons, charging ahead. 

You stepped back in fear as four men immediately threw themselves at Sousuke. He waited for them and lunged in the perfect moment. As fast as lightning, he blocked the first two attack and swung his sword in a series of complicated moves, slashing the chest of the first pirate while injuring the next one on his shoulder.

With a cry they stepped aside, and that gave time for the other two behind them to attack.

Skillfully jumping over the huddled form of their fellow shipmates, they swung; one from the left and the other from the right. Sousuke ’ts’ – ked and dodged it with a somersault, which lead to the two men literally chopping each other’s head off. These two didn't even have the opportunity to cry, and fell to the floor in silence. Their heads banged against the wooden deck. 

The red that immediately colored the deck underneath them made you squirm. You have never seen Sousuke like this before. Would have Haruka ended up the same way if they weren't interrupted?

You couldn't help but slightly turn away from the sight and you seemingly weren’t the only one.

Glancing up from the bodies, you could see the Captain and his remaining crew frozen to the ground at what just happened. With barely any sweat, Sousuke already managed to take out four of his men.

The Captain, now more scared then uncertain, gritted his teeth in frustration.

”C’MON DON’ JUS’ STAN’ THERE! DO SOMETIN’!” he barked at the men who were closest to him. They did so, but with significantly more cautiousness then their previous counterparts. 

A double sword wielding man was Sousuke’s next opponent.

He approached him head on but before he could even strike, Sousuke jumped and with a series of kicks to his head, managed to make him lose his balance and fall backwards, losing both of his swords.

Another pirate that stood nearby, didn’t wait for Sousuke to regain his balance, and with a cry immediately picked up one of the fallen swords of his previous mate and charged ahead. 

That surprised him, as was evident by his fair eyes suddenly widening. The pirate that jumped in for his friend picked up on Sousuke’s slow reaction. Sousuke managed to defend himself on time, however, the blow of his opponent made him winded, forcing him to go in to defense. 

Multiple attacks followed from his attacker, the harsh sound of metal hitting metal accompanying the scene. Sousuke was still holding his front, but was still forced to defend himself; the pirate not letting him have the chance to turn the tides to his advantage. 

This was quickly noticed by the remaining men on the ship, their morale and hope increasing by witnessing the scene. Maybe it wasn’t even that impossible to teach this cocky brat a lesson or two. After all, it would have been ridiculous if the merchant really beat them in a swords fight!

He was outnumbered and no matter how good he fought, everyone has their limit. Sooner or later he would tire and then on it would be a child’s play to win against him. 

The curling of the lips present on the men around you was, of course, unseen by Sousuke, as he was busy saving the two of you, but you could clearly feel the lighter mood around you growing and growing.

As they got to see how Sousuke was faring, they got more courageous as well. Your heart almost jumped out of your throat when you spotted three other men already approaching Sousuke.

Acting instinctively, you did what your mind came up with on the spot. And that was suddenly running and taking the other sword from the floor. Whirling back up, you positioned yourself in a defensive “on point(4)” mode. The men stopped, their grin frozen to their faces. 

Sousuke noticed what you were doing but given that he was still busy with his opponent – who was now joined by another pirate – couldn’t come to your help.

“(NAME)?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

Your consciousness was asking the exact same question. Really, just what _were_ you doing?! You have never in your life held a sword, much less _fought_ with one. Sweat trickled down your back and your hands were shaking like hell, but you decided that you would just act as if you knew what you were doing and maybe, just maybe, you could somehow keep the men at bay until Sousuke could catch his breath. 

As you looked at your soon to be opponents and the way they were standing, you tried to remain calm and assume a confident poise. They were unaware that you knew nothing about sword fighting. 

“(NAME)! STOP, JUST RUN AWAY!”

You didn’t listen to him. You waited, until one of them finally raked enough courage together to take you on. The young man who was facing you was holding a Khopesh (5). He took a few steps forward, before he suddenly took off in a run.

You blinked perplexed, not awaiting his sudden sprint.

The man swung his weapon high above his head and tried to struck you down with it. Your reflexes kicking in, you stepped aside just in the right moment and swung your sword at him sideways, effectively hitting him in the hip, slashing his clothes. 

'Oh, Hell,' you thought to yourself. 'Did I really do that just now?!'

You could hardly believe it. Guess this is what they call fight or flight response, huh? Your victory was short lived however, when you heard him groan in pain and turn around. He was holding his side, but your attack wasn’t strong and deep enough to severely wound him. He was still able to fight. 

In that moment you realized how crucial your first strike in a sword fight was. It didn’t take long for the man with the Kopesh to realize how much of a beginner you were.

Clutching his side, he shot you a knowing grin that made the hair at your nape stand up, before he lunged at you again, this time swinging his Khopesh sideways, in an attempt to get you hooked on his weapons blunted edge.

You raised your sword as high as you could and hit the hooked part of his weapon with the tip of your sword, trying to force it out of his hands. 

Much to your utter surprise, you actually succeeded in doing so, and the bronze weapon promptly flew out of the hands of your opponent and landed somewhere behind you. Your attacker and you could only stand face to face; both of you trying to process what just really happened.

An audible splash could be heard and you squeezed your eyes shut in relief. By the sound of it, The Kopesh fell in to the sea, leaving your opponent bare handed. 

When it finally dawned on the man before you, that he just literally lost against a newbie, he grimaced in fury and with a cry, charged against you. You jolted in horror and stepped aside with a scream, making your attacker run in to the gunwale of the ship, which made his body propel forward and fall in to the ocean with a scream.

You just could not believe your luck. With eyes wide, you stared where you last saw your unfortunate opponent, before turning back to the other two men. Slack jawed, they looked at you as if you were some kind of other - worldly creature with at least ten tentacles.

The look on their faces was almost comical and you would have laughed, if it weren't for you about to piss yourself in absolute dread. Still, you forced yourself to somehow – someway fight them as well, even though the possibility that your luck would save you again was nigh impossible. 

A familiar broad figure sprung in front of you, saving you the trouble to worry about this. 

“Sousuke,” you called his name with worry. He was shielding you from the two men, but it was obvious that he was low on fuel. His wide shoulders heaved with every breath he took and your heart sank with sorrow when you noticed that he got some wounds on him as well. 

“(Name),” Sousuke panted. “Please, just.... just stand back.”

In that particular moment you deeply regretted not learning how to fight with a sword. Or how to fight in general, really. 

Heeding his words, you stepped back without letting go of your sword and quickly took a glance around. The previous two from earlier were both heavily wounded and laying on the floor. And so far seven men were defeated, some temporarily, some forever, (plus that poor sod who fell in to the ocean). That only left the two men before you two and the Captain. 

Maybe your chances to be saved didn’t look that bad. The ball was still up in the air, but at least your situation didn’t look that severe.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted the Captain reaching for his weapon and joining his men.

“Impressive. I gotta give it to you, you’re a great swordsman,” he commented, loftily tilting up his head as he approached you two. Sousuke remained quiet; his eyes observing every move of the Captain. 

“But you showcasing your talent stops here. It’s over. You wiped out more than half of my crew, and I’ll make sure you pay for that!”

Both of your faces fell in to an uneasy expression. The Captain’s demeanor changed from mildly amused to drop dead serious. His eyes were hard and void of anything joyful, with only pure determination being visible. 

Your eyes were back on Sousuke. He managed to calm down, not having to pant that hard to regain his breath. Still, standing so close to him, you could sense that he was in no way or shape to continue fighting. If anything, you noticed that he was currently determined not to let anyone see how much his arms and legs shook. 

Seeing him in this state prompted you to grip the handle of your own sword just a tad bit tighter. Was this really the end? 

The whole fiasco on the ship caused everyone present to lose sight of the horizon. Of course this was natural when one was more preoccupied with saving it’s own life, then scanning the wide ocean. However, as natural as it was for ordinary folks, it was damn near lethal for a pirate or anyone who frequented the seas. 

The Captain realized this too late. The approaching silhouette of another ship was already too close to comfort. 

Tearing his eyes away from you both, he had to come face to face with a vessel he hoped in his life to never see. For next to his beloved ship was a majestic royal ship.

Sousuke and you looked on wide eyed, when said ship sailed gracefully alongside the pirate ship. It’s massive size easily enveloped everyone in shadows, and the waves it produced from lightly rocking to both sides, made the much smaller pirate ship move as well. But what really caught your eyes were the color of it’s sails. They sported a particular hue and stripes that you have grown to love by now. 

Your heart swelled with joyous hope. Could it be...? A grin blossomed on your face. Sousuke turned to you with a confused expression, silently asking you why you were so happy all of a sudden. You turned back to him and nodded with a reassuring smile. 

Not long after that, royal guards were seen to board the ship. The Captain and his two remaining men immediately surrendered. Anxiously, you waited for them to disperse in order to see the entrance. As your eyes were stuck to the very same spot, you couldn’t even miss the top of a familiar turban appearing. 

You held your breath in awe, as the approaching figure got nearer and nearer, effectively revealing himself more and more. Said figure walked with fast, urgent steps, his fair eyes wildly looking around the ship. 

You feet were already carrying to him before he even locked his eyes with you. “Haruka!” 

“(Name)...!?”

You threw yourself in his arms, hugging him tightly and him only reciprocating it tenfold. You could feel his hands dug in to your back, holding you to his frame as tightly as he could.

“Haru...!” you repeated in to his shoulder, more quietly. He buried his nose in to your neck, quietly asking you. 

“Are you all right? Did they do something to you?!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” you repeated breathlessly; nodding and shaking your head in the same time. “I was just scared...!” Without wanting to, a few tears escaped your eyes. They rolled down your flushed cheeks and at this point, you had neither the power or will to stop them. 

“(Name)! I am so sorry for everything!” apologized Haruka. 

“I’ts all right,” you sniffed, still not letting him go. 

Sousuke watched you two interact with each other. A bittersweet smile crossed his face at the scene. At this point, he was more than glad that you were safe. And as he could now witness with his own two eyes, you really were happy with the Prince. 

He shook his head. He really was an idiot, wasn’t he...? 

Meanwhile, a thought crossed your mind. Slightly separating yourself from Haruka, you asked him.

“How did you know we were here? How did you find us?”

He briefly explained to you what happened in the Palace. “But I knew you didn’t leave me. It was all so very suspicious. Then I saw Asim and from then on I knew that you were abducted. If you really were about to leave me, you would have brought Asim with you.”

Then he glanced to Sousuke, who was currently examining himself, trying to salvage some of the wounds he got from the fight. 

“Then we followed _him_ ,” continued Haruka, his eyes darkening with hostility. “I ordered my guards to travel back to your village and asked around, searching for him. Someone told me that he spotted walking him to this harbor. We traveled back and returned with a ship as fast as we could. This ship wasn’t far away from the harbor and I instantly knew that you were here.” 

From behind the Prince, another set of steps could be heard. At the approaching sound, you raised your head from Haruka’s shoulder and met the eyes of Daher. You tensed and stared ahead, Haruka immediately noticing your quick change in demeanor. 

“(Name)?” Haruka murmured. “What’s the matter?”

“...It was him,” you croaked out. Seeing the advisor again was enough for your voice to get swallowed by fear, but you were still able to go on. “He was the one who abducted me.”

The Prince turned around, wanting to see whom you were talking about. His blue eyes landed on the short male, who was now aimlessly meandering on the deck. He even caught Sousuke shooting the advisor a rather dirty look. _Wait just a minute...!_ At that moment, something snapped in him. 

“So it wasn’t Yamazaki who kidnapped you?” he asked, turning back to you. 

“No... ! Please, just hear me out! This is a horrible misunderstanding!”

As quietly as you could, you told to him what happened. What made you more relieved than ever was the fact, that unless yesterday night, you could clearly see him now. And this alone allowed you to observe how his expression molded in to complete understanding.

He was now more prone to believe you, probably because he himself was already having inklings about this whole fiasco. 

However, your shushed talking didn’t escape the notice of the advisor. More and more he could catch snippets of your conversation and for a moment his blood froze . Did you know...? There is no way! 

He looked to the side, abruptly catching the gaze of the Captain. The latter didn’t make any inclinations of recognizing him. Good, he thought to himself. Reassured, he rested his eyes back on you two.

Albeit his plan failed, he was making sure to keep his cool. 

Though, what followed next was anything but reassuring, at least on his part. For the next moment, the Prince turned around and walked up to him. Cocking an eyebrow, Daher didn’t know what to make of this. ...Until the Prince raised his arms. 

“Guards!”

His men snapped in a straight line, awaiting the Prince’s order. The old man looked on, not being able to believe what he heard next. With an icy voice, the Prince spoke. 

“Arrest him.”

In an instant, the guards surrounded Daher, ready to take him away with the pirates. At first, he couldn’t even utter a single word, before a series of words escaped his mouth. 

“W – wait, wait, waaait just a minute...! Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?!”

Ignoring his question, the Prince muttered on. “No wonder why you were so adamant about letting her go. You wanted this to happen.”

Daher thrashed around in the hold of the guards, gritting his teeth in frustration. “What accusations...! You can’t prove that! I demand you to let me go!” 

Hearing his voice, the Captain suddenly raised his head. 

“Oi,” he shouted, trying to slow down the guards who were escorting him back to the royal ship. “Wait a minute, Your Highness...!” 

Everyone turned their heads to look at him, including the Prince. “What is it?”

The Captain's hands were held down by his men, not giving him much room to move. With his chin, he pointed in the direction of the advisor. “It was him...! The man who came to me with his offer! The one who mislead us all! I recognize his voice. I couldn' see him, but I remember his voice!”

All eyes were on Daher. No one said anything while the advisor visibly jolted in his place, his eyes wildly darting back and forth. With darkening eyes, the Prince flicked his hand and the guards started dragging him away. 

“W – wait, Your Highness...! I can explain...!”

“There is nothing for you to explain,” interrupted him Haruka. “From the beginning I should have listened to (Name). She was warning me about you and I didn’t believe her. I don’t know what this woman did to you to, but I’m sure nothing grave enough for her to end up like this.”

“That is just it, Your Highness! She was a distraction to you and nothing else! She is a peasant girl, not worthy of your affection!”

Haruka turned away, outright refusing to hear him out. But you remained, listening to every word that tumbled out of his mouth. 

“YOUR LAND, YOUR PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING! THE DROUGHT IS STILL VERY MUCH PRESENT, BUT INSTEAD OF TAKING CARE OF THAT, YOU TRAVELED AWAY TO PLAY WITH SOME MERE PEASANT!”

He was wheezing by now, trying to scream out everything that was on his mind before getting taken away. The guards were already urging him to go, but with head bent over his shoulder he continued.

“AND YOU DARE TO CALL YOURSELF A PRINCE?! YOU ACHIEVED NOTHING! **NOTHING!** ”

When he was finally taken back to the royal ship, his shouting subdued before completely dying down and the Prince was left standing there in grave silence. You saw his fists trembling. Biting your lip, your eyes spotted the Captain and his men getting taken away. Rushing up to them, you raised your hands. 

“Halt, stop! Please! I have something to ask him.”

The guards uncertainly glanced to Haruka, who only nodded; he himself not being able to fight down his curiosity as to why you suddenly stopped them. Sousuke looked on as well, but it was undoubtedly the Captain himself who was the most incredulously looking at you.

You regarded him with a much calmer demeanor, for which he was really thankful. (Not that he would admit it.)

“From before, when you were talking about taking us to Kumat...,” you started, with a serious glint in your eyes. It didn’t take the Captain too long to remember, and thus he nodded.

“Yeah... ?”

“You talked about some kind of system they used there. For their soil.”

The Captain raised one of his bushy eyebrows in question. For the first time since he saw your temper tantrum on his deck, he knew that you weren’t just any kind of young woman. You had guts and anyone that didn’t take you seriously, had to do so on their own accord. 

The Captain grunted in response. “Yeah, what about it?”

“I want you to take me to Kumat after all.”

You could sense everyone’s eyes on you. A pensive silence ensued, before the Captain finally spoke up. “Have you finally lost it, missy?”

You rolled your eyes. “For Heaven’s sake, not as a slave! I want to see that system you were talking about!”

Confusion still present on his face, he looked at you as if you were speaking another language.

“Jus’... why are you suddenly so interested in that?”

You shot him an enigmatic smile, before you turned back to Haruka. He gazed at you with a mix of uncertainty and curiosity, not knowing what you had in mind. You quelled his worries with a disarming smile. 

“I think we might have found a solution to your Land’s problem.”

\--- 

5 months later 

 

The turmoil in the Prince’s Land disappeared, and yet at the same time it remained. Or more like, it significantly _changed_.

There was no war of any kind – oh no, far from it! After the groundbreaking discovery in Kumat, the Prince sought out the advice of it’s Pharaoh. She gave them permission to take a look at their renowned system, and after that, there was vigorous planning to apply the same system in his Land. The neighbouring Sultan even offered to them to use his river for the time being. 

And so, not long after their own irrigation system was built, the flourishing of diverse flora and fauna could be seen. Along with the peaceful atmosphere in his Land. It was safe to say, that his people welcomed this change with open arms. 

Therefore, the turmoil that sweeped trough his Land right now, was nothing akin to the situation before. This one was one to be joyous about!

For today, on this breathtakingly glorious day, the Prince and his beloved were crowned Sultan and Sultana. 

Dressed from head to toe in white, the newly wedded pair was seen on their royal Howdah, happily blushing and waving to the crowd. It came as no surprise, that the folk immediately accepted the newly crowned Sultana as their ruler, for she was kind and open - hearted and partly responsible for saving them. It also helped that she was one of them, so to speak, and thus sympathized with their troubles more easily. 

Sousuke and the old merchant were invited as well, the latter not being able to hold back his tears. Though her husband was a bit weary about the younger merchant being invited, in the end he did save her back then, as he later learned. The Sultana waved to them with the biggest smile she could muster, and they lightly chuckled before waving back. 

The elephant carried them both with diligence, effortlessly cutting trough the sea of celebrating people, even though he was wearing heavy decoration to begin with. His golden Nettipattam (6), along with various other necklaces and bells jingled with every move of his. 

All of a sudden, hundreds and hundreds of beautiful pinkish – white petals could be seen twirling in the air. 

Everyone gasped in awe, while the Sultan and Sultana shared a look of surprise. Both of them glanced down from the Howdah, only to see young children jumping around the elephant and throwing petals high up in the air. Seeing this, they erupted in light hearted laughter. Some of the petals got caught in the Sultana's hair, which prompted the newly crowned Sultan to gently stroke his hand trough her hair. This is when he recognized something, that made him smile in. 

'How fitting,' he thought to himself. 

They were petals from a flower called Adenium. The very same flower that in folk speech was simply called as Desert Rose.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> Almost every work of mine on AO3 starts with a note that begins with something like how it was originally posted on DA, but it was taken down by prudish ignorance. This work won't be an exception to that. 
> 
> Anyway, I present my newest series. Let's hope this won't take me a year and a half to finish, pff!


End file.
